Awaiting Report 24-43 regarding conducting outreach to Cambridge colleges and universities and coordinating with the MBTA on promoting the MBTA’s new University Pass Program

MBTA’s new University Pass Program

Through the above referenced policy order, the City Council requested that staff conduct outreach to Cambridge colleges and universities and coordinate with the MBTA on promoting their new pilot University Pass Program. The University Pass Program is a two-year pilot program to collect and evaluate data on how college and university students use MBTA passes. With usage-based pricing, schools can pay for students at lower, or even free rate. The program is divided into two one-year terms.

The first year is priced based on estimated current student ridership data and is coordinated by MBTA working with the colleges and universities. The second year is priced using data collected from the first City staff have reached out to MBTA staff about the new University Pass pilot program. MBTA staff report that they’ve begun conversations with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on joining the pilot program.

They also offered their appreciation for the City’s engagement in promoting the program. The MBTA remain interested in engaging with universities even after the initial deadline of August 2024. This means that MBTA may consider expanding the pilot to new university partners in 2025.

Since MBTA’s conversations with Harvard and MIT are already underway, City staff have begun working in parallel with them to contact staff at Lesley University and Hult International Business School to encourage them to consider the program. We will also continue to coordinate on this program during our regularly scheduled coordination meetings with MBTA staff.