The Duluth Transit Authority broke its U-Pass ridership record for the University of Minnesota Duluth last year, giving 569,361 rides to UMD students, faculty and staff members in 2011-12, its 11th year.
Ridership at UMD last year was up 5 percent from the previous year.
Total ridership at UMD since the program began in 2000 is more than 4.7 million riders, with the 5 millionth expected to get on the bus before the end of the year. UMD riders have accounted for nearly 12 percent of the DTA's ridership since 2000. During fall and spring semesters, U-Pass ridership at UMD accounts for nearly 20 percent of system-wide ridership.
UMD pays for the program so it's free to users.
The program was introduced in 2000 as a partnership between UMD and the DTA to encourage use of public transportation on campus by providing unlimited rides for students, faculty and staff members and by building an on-campus transit hub. The program's goal is to reduce on-campus traffic, minimize student parking in nearby neighborhoods and address the
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construction-related reduction of campus parking.
The College of St. Scholastica and Lake Superior College joined the program in 2001, and the University of Wisconsin-Superior joined in 2007.
