U. of Kentucky's transit pass program surpasses 1 million rides
The BluPass program — funded by Parking and Transportation Services — was implemented to decrease single-occupancy vehicle use, give students and employees more choices in transportation options and to ultimately reduce campus parking demand.
On July 1, 2015, the University of Kentucky and Lextran began a partnership that would allow UK students, faculty and staff to ride any Lextran bus route free of charge simply by showing their valid Wildcard ID. The partnership — dubbed BluPass — has grown tremendously in its first 15 months of service, recently surpassing 1 million rides.
The program — funded by Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) — was implemented in an effort to decrease single-occupancy vehicle use, give students and employees more choices in transportation options and to ultimately reduce campus parking demand.
Ad Loading...
"One of the major goals of the Transportation Master Plan was to mitigate parking demand through the use of alternative transportation and transportation demand management," said Lance Broeking, director of Parking and Transportation Services. "We're trying to provide university employees and students with opportunities to shift their mode of transportation using a variety of alternative transportation options from bicycling to walking to campus. Mass transit is just another one of the tools in the toolbox."
Lextran travels throughout 24 different city routes extending throughout and beyond the UK campus into the Lexington community. The program includes all Lextran routes, both on and off campus, allowing UK students, faculty and staff to travel to, from, and around campus while also accessing the city.
"BluPass has saved me a lot of money and time. I don't have to pay for parking. Timewise, it's just much easier to hop on, get to where you need to be instead of spending half an hour walking to class," said Ryan Hoover, sophomore special education major.
BluPass has proven to have a number of benefits for its users. Students and employees who were already riding Lextran prior to the introduction of BluPass experienced an immediate cost savings with a fare-free commute. Students and employees who switched to mass transit after the introduction of BluPass also saw reduced vehicle operating and parking costs, along with a lowered carbon footprint.
Chemistry senior lecturer Kim Woodrum says by using BluPass she has saved time and money and is grateful for the opportunity to ride the bus to work using BluPass to work.
"I really appreciate UK making this available," Woodrum said.
What truly drives the cost of a paratransit fleet? Beyond the purchase price, seven operational factors quietly determine maintenance frequency, downtime, and long-term service reliability. This whitepaper explores how these factors shape lifecycle cost and what agencies should evaluate when selecting paratransit vehicles.
In this conversation, TBC’s Executive Director Ed Redfern, President Corey Aldridge, and Washington Representative Joel Rubin outline the coalition’s key policy priorities, the challenges facing transit agencies, and how industry stakeholders can work together to strengthen the voice of bus transit at the federal level.
Originally introduced in 2023 as the Bus Line Redesign, the effort has evolved into a more targeted update that maintains familiar routes while improving reliability, frequency, evening and weekend service, and connections across Allegheny County.
S3 will connect communities along SR 522 with fast, reliable, battery-electric bus service from Shoreline South Station to Bothell via Kenmore and Lake Forest Park.
The configuration uses Ster Seating's Gemini seat platform to create a family-friendly floor layout specifically engineered to accommodate parents traveling with young children.
The Renton Transit Center project will relocate and rebuild the Renton Transit Center to better serve the regional Stride S1 line, local King County Metro services, and the future RapidRide I Line.
