Students will determine the future of the Bruin U-Pass in the 2025 Undergraduate Students Association Council election.

The 2023 Universal Access Transit Pass Referendum, which provides UCLA students with TAP cards for unlimited public transit across Los Angeles County for what was initially $3.30 per quarter, is set to expire in 2026. The Universal Access Transit Pass Renewal Referendum would renew the funding and nearly double the current quarterly fee of $3.41 to $6.80.

Michael Griffin, a director of transportation equity and access for the USAC Facilities Commission, said this fee increase is due to UCLA Transportation underestimating the program’s popularity when the original referendum was passed.

“The amount of ridership that we’ve seen has greatly surpassed what UCLA Transportation originally estimated that it would be,” said Griffin, a third-year biology student. “UCLA Transportation’s funding goal is to try to fund about a third of it, and right now, they’re funding, on average, about 60% of the cost of the U-Pass. So, this higher fee would equalize that out.”

Griffin added that the fee increase is necessary due to concerns about university funding.

The 2025 referendum’s goal is to extend the U-Pass’s funding to spring 2030, Griffin said. The new fee would go into effect fall 2026 if passed.

The decision to have the referendum on the 2025 ballot instead of waiting until the 2026 USAC election was made in an attempt to maximize campaigning efforts, he added.

“Since we have seniors in our committee that are graduating and who were on the original campaign, we thought it would be more prudent to try to renew the funding this year,” Griffin said.

The Facilities Commission’s other director of transportation equity and access, Winston Li, said Bruins for Better Transit – which is campaigning for the pass’s funding renewal – decided to push for the renewal referendum early due to worries about the referendum’s prospects.

“There’s a risk that it can’t be renewed,” he said. “It needs to reach the 20% voter turnout threshold for any referendum to be approved, regardless of how many students support it, so we want to make sure that we have a chance now to renew it so that students don’t lose access to the service.”

Kiely Ballard, a fourth-year psychology student, said it would be difficult for students if the Bruin U-Pass were discontinued – especially those with mobility issues. She added that the student fee for the U-Pass, in exchange for unlimited rides, is “hard to beat.”

“It’s (the U-Pass is) a really valuable resource for students to have, especially those who don’t have a method of transportation,” she said. “One of the obstacles for that is the high price of a parking pass per quarter. That’s why I personally don’t have a vehicle here, and I use the bus mainly to get to and from the airport and such and around the city.”

All referendums that change student fees must be approved by a majority of voting students – with turnout from at least 20% of eligible voters – according to the USA Election Code. Voting for the 2025 USAC elections will be open on MyUCLA from 8 a.m. Friday to noon May 16.