Students split over potential Metro fee

March 16, 2017

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - During its biweekly meeting on Feb. 28, the University of Maryland
Resident Hall Association (RHA) Senate passed a resolution supporting a mandatory student fee
that would fund unlimited access to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA) system for students living on-campus.

Students would pay $130 each semester for unlimited rides on the Metrorail and
Metrobus. Those required to pay the fee would include students living in traditional residence
halls, South Campus Commons and The Courtyards.

Chair of the Transportation Advisory Committee, Matt

OBrien, authored the bill. RHA reported that they hope this
subsidy will not only alleviate the financial burden felt by
students who regularly commute to DC, but will also improve
UMDs commitment to sustainable living and encourage the
exploration by students of a cultural and political center.
The College Park- U of MD Metro Station
They were inspired by a nearly identical Metro plan Photo credit: The Maryland-D.C.
Scholastic Press Association
recently implemented by American University.

UMD students are relatively split between supporting and opposing the plan.

Students who back the plan argued that saving money is not the sole reason for the plan.
They emphasized the environmental and cultural benefits of its implementation that they felt
would improve students college experience

Metro passes can improve student access to internships and experiences all over the
DMV. Overall, the price that everyone pays will leave UMD students feeling more empowered
and connected, said sophomore physiology and neurobiology major Robert Thomasian.

Some students also spoke about the positive environmental impact of using public
transportation.

As we move into the future we need to start considering more long-term and sustainable
options for transportation and this is just that, said sophomore psychology major Emily
Franzone.

More
 Students who oppose the plan said that not enough students currently use the Metro to
consider the unlimited pass an advantage, instead seeing it as an additional cost. Some of them
estimated that they would need to ride the Metro at least once or twice a week to make up for the
$130 fee, a task they doubted they would accomplish.

Others argued that the students likely to benefit from this bill are primarily
upperclassmen with internships in D.C., many of whom do not live on campus. Many students
cited their own personal lack of Metro use.

The majority of students dont go to D.C. enough for $130 worth of transportation, said
Kelsey Anderson, a sophomore English and neuroscience and physiology major.
Many admitted that while the idea sounded good in concept, its implementation would
not prove beneficial for students.
I think its more of a selling point for the university to talk about on tours than it is more
useful to students, said senior biological sciences major Michelle Zamil.
When asked what the best decision would be, some students suggested making the Metro
plan optional. Their argument was that this would allow those with internships in D.C. to save
money, while not forcing the fee onto those who do not use the Metro as often.
RHA is currently working out the logistics of the program and is targeting a pilot as early
as the spring semester of 2018.

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