To help underscore the benefits of public transit and encourage area college students, faculty and staff to use the system more regularly, Citizens for Modern Transit teamed up with St. Clair County Transit District, Metro Transit and five higher education institutions – each of which offer the Metro U-Pass Program – to host the CMT “College Transit Challenge” on Friday, September 20. The day-long competition encouraged those affiliated with St. Louis Community College, Saint Louis University, Southwestern Illinois College, University of Missouri–St. Louis and WashU to utilize their Metro U-Pass to take transit as often as they could throughout the day.
Ridership was tracked via mobile texting. More than 200 transit trips were tracked via mobile texting, and the school with the most participation and the winner of the College Transit Challenge trophy for 2024 is… WashU!
“Congratulations to WashU and all the colleges and universities that participated in this challenge – it was so much fun,” stated Kimberly Cella, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit. “It was a close race, with UMSL and WashU battling for the top spot and STLCC, SLU and SWIC competing for third. This fun-filled day of riding transit also helped underscore the critical role transit plays for access to our higher education institutions in St. Louis.”
Thank you to all of the challenge participants for making this effort a success. Make sure to visit our resource page to learn more about the Metro U-Pass programs at each of the five area schools.
Don’t see your school listed? Reach out to your school and Metro Transit for more information about implementing a pass program where you are.
Interested in joining CMT in transit advocacy as we move forward into 2025? Become a member today.
