Staff Editorial: Taking another look at PennPass

In an attempt to assist Penn students in commuting to and from campus, the University introduced the PennPass: a semester-long discount on Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority transportation. While the system is worthwhile, it will require some changes before it can become truly effective.

To that end, the Undergraduate Assembly, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and the University Council have all encouraged Penn to examine the PennPass situation as it stands. We agree that the University should look into it, and offer the following suggestions.

First of all, we are strongly against the idea of making the PennPass mandatory by simply adding a fee to everyone's tuition bill. As only 288 students currently take advantage of the system, making improvements in PennPass at the cost of the rest of the Penn community would only serve to alienate potential users.

Instead, the University should make PennPass something that many students will want to use -- not just to commute, but to make trips to the city to take advantage of what Philadelphia has to offer. As it stands, $250 is an exorbitant amount; students would have to make almost 100 round trips per semester to make it worth the money. We suggest that PennPass include a second option, at a lesser cost, which does not include the regional rail. That would offer Penn students a more affordable means by which to travel, thereby increasing their incentive to make trips around the city.

In addition, it would offer more flexibility if the PennPass became a monthlong option, as many students cannot afford to pay $250 in one lump sum. A monthly pass would be much less of a commitment than the current model and would give students an opportunity to try the PennPass out and decide if it is worth it for them.

Because the PennPass has a tremendous upside, we think the University has a vested interest in seeing it succeed and in seeing more Penn students use it. However, while we think the PennPass should be more affordable, this should not come at the cost of greater tuition or at the expense of other important programs.

Currently, Penn simply gets a discount from SEPTA for buying passes in bulk. Increasing the appeal of the program will cause Penn to purchase more of these passes from SEPTA, which should make SEPTA more willing to sell them to Penn at a lower rate. We ask that the University take these thoughts into consideration as it determines the future of the PennPass.

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