Editor's Note: This article has been updated with newly announced information.
American University will renew the U-Pass program for the fall semester, the University announced in an email Monday.
The program will return to pre-pandemic levels, according to an email from Fanta Aw, vice president of campus life and inclusive excellence. The activation date will be announced sometime over the summer.
“We are looking forward to the resumption of on-campus classes and activities,” Aw wrote in the email. “U•PASS is an important link with our broader Washington, DC community and all the experiences and opportunities it can offer our students.”
AU students logged more than 1.4 million rides between July 2018 and June 2019, a University spokesperson told The Eagle in August.
The announcement follows a year-long suspension of the program due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In November, the University announced that the U-Pass program was suspended for the second semester in a row after WMATA “decided it was not a viable option.”
At a student media briefing on April 8, AU Executive Director of Safety Programs Dan Nichols announced that there will be further information about the safety procedures related to U-Pass distribution as the University gets closer to the fall 2021 semester.
On Aug. 2, the University announced in an email to the AU community that new and returning students can pick up their U-Pass from Aug. 22 to 29 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Mary Graydon Center. Returning students should bring their existing U-Pass to the distribution location to be replaced, according to the email.
