Days after Northwestern announced it would discontinue its Chicago Transit Authority 201 Ventra card program—which provided undergraduate students with free rides on the 201 bus—student reaction came swiftly and clearly.

As of Saturday, a petition to reinstate the program has collected more than 850 signatures. The goal is to reach 1,000 before the petition is delivered to university administration next month, said Beth Asfaw, a junior at Weinberg University and the organizer of the petition.

A major frustration among students is the loss of an inexpensive public transportation option close to campus.

Many fear that this decision will particularly impact first-generation and low-income students, potentially limiting their opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities and other opportunities while increasing their financial burden.

The NU-specific Ventra card now functions like a standard card and requires students to pay $2.25 for each full CTA bus ticket.

Ahead of the 2024–25 academic year, Percy Edmonds, a junior at McCormick University, recently moved into an apartment complex at Howard Station, about an hour’s walk from campus.

“One of the reasons I got an apartment so far from campus was because I knew I would still have (free) transportation to the university,” said Edmonds, who has been a regular rider on the 201 since his freshman year. “The decision was made so last minute and felt like a punch in the gut.”

He knows that out-of-pocket CTA fares “can add up really quickly.” And to manage those costs, Edmonds said, he might stay home some days to watch classes online and reduce other living expenses.

The loss of the shuttle service also raises concerns for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses who rely on the standardized wheelchair and assistive device provisions available on all 201 buses, the petition says.

“For a university that prides itself on being ‘committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and supportive environment,’ this decision undermines its promise to ensure that all students have equal access to all the resources necessary for their success,” the petition states.

In 2015, CTA and NU agreed to a five-year agreement that would provide free rides to students who board the 201 buses with a university ID. Later, rides required a university-issued Ventra card.

The program’s ridership continues to rise and has averaged around 1,900 passengers per day on weekdays since April of this year, according to the Regional Transportation Authority.

Explaining its decision, the university said in an email to the NU community on Friday that the intercampus shuttle adequately meets students’ transportation needs.

University spokeswoman Hilary Hurd Anyaso told The Daily in a statement that NU has planned “several improvements to its transportation system” this year, including “an improved Safe Ride experience and technology to track and utilize approaching transit at any time of day.” More details will be announced later this month, Hurd Anyaso said.

Another option NU currently offers to eligible graduate students is a CTA University Pass, which requires a quarterly transit pass fee.

Other universities in the Chicago area, such as the University of Illinois Chicago and Loyola University Chicago, also offer their undergraduate and graduate students a U-Pass that allows them unlimited rides on the CTA. And for DePaul University students, the cost of a U-Pass is already included in their tuition.

Rocco Cappelletti, a junior at Weinberg School, rode the 201 bus at least three to four times a week during the school year across campus and into downtown Evanston, where he transferred to the Metra.

The intercampus shuttle is also used, Cappelletti said, but they noted that the shuttle is more commonly used by students to commute between NU campuses.

While both transportation options overlap at some stops in similar areas, the 201 line has multiple stops from NU’s Evanston campus to Ryan Field and downtown Evanston, where students like Cappelletti can easily commute on the CTA.

“I think people not knowing how the intercampus shuttle works is one thing,” Cappelletti said. “I also don’t see much point in using it.”

But for many students who must commute to programs on campus and in the surrounding area, the loss of the program will be a bitter loss.

For second-year SESP student Michael Jurek, riding the 201 was an integral part of his school routine.

Since the intercampus shuttle was often unavailable or full after classes ended, he relied on the free bus to get to his student job on the other side of campus, the NU Center for Talent Development, on time.

“I always saw the 201 as another accessible transportation option, so I was very disappointed when it was removed,” said Jurek, who grew up using public transportation in Chicago. “It was never like that in my mind, you had a lot of options, not just the intercampus.”

This fall, he also planned to use the service to volunteer at Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America, a local nonprofit in Chicago.

Jurek said he had to think about alternatives: working less, doing more housework or looking for other transportation options.

“It’s a scary thought, but I have to deal with it,” Jurek said. “For a student like me, who has a proven high need for financial aid, it’s going to be really hard to cover such expenses.”

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