DCTA proposes changes to Pass Program
Javier Navarro / Intern
The Denton County Transportation Authority is seeking community feedback regarding its proposed changes to the University Pass Program.
According to DCTA President Jim Cline, the agency is considering two options: keeping the current structure that allows students to purchase a pass for an entire semester or year with reduced prices, or buying day tickets for $2.50 individually.
“This is what we see as the two options,” Cline said. “We found that our rates were a little bit higher than what they should be, so we’re looking at some options to lower those numbers.”
The University Pass Program currently only requires a one-time purchase and can be purchased online for about $250 for a full semester. While the day passes are cheaper, it would require students to bring both their University and DCTA-issued identification every time they buy one, according to DCTA Vice President of Marketing & Communications Kristina Brevard.
“There are both pros and cons to both approaches,” Brevard said. “We want feedback from the university students to help guide our decision moving forward.”
The DCTA will host open house events in early September to share the proposed changes and other service changes with the community as well as to collect feedback from the public.
“We’re looking for people to come and give us some feedback,” Cline said. “What we try to provide at DCTA is a reliable alternative for someone commuting up to Denton or from Denton to Southlake.”
The open house events will also cover some other projects and proposals, which will include modifications and extensions to certain routes, as well as adding another train to the A-Train station.
Biology senior John Porter uses the current University Pass Program when he commutes from Flower Mound, and said that he prefers the way it is right now and thinks it’s affordable, but also said that it depends on how many times a student travels to campus.
“One [option] is obviously going to be more of a value if you’re up here a lot versus not up here,” Porter said.
The proposed changes will go through the board of approval and then be implemented in January 2014.
There will be an open house event at UNT in room 42 of the Gateway Center on September 5 from noon to 1:30 p.m.
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