Students can pick up their cards to participate in the December free trial for U-Pass the week after returning from Thanksgiving break, the University announced in an email to students Friday.
Officials said they will distribute the cards from the Continental Ballroom on the third floor of the University Student Center throughout the week after Thanksgiving, and representatives from GW and Metro will be on-site to answer students’ questions. The email states students will have to present their GWorld to pick up the U-Pass card, which can’t be connected to personal SmarTrip cards, and students will also have to pick up a new permanent U-Pass card for the spring when the University starts charging $100 per semester for the program.
The email states officials will announce pick-up dates and times for spring 2022 U-Pass cards by mid-December.
“To participate in GW’s U-Pass program you will need to show your student GWorld card and pick up a physical U-Pass Metro SmartTrip Card,” the email reads. “Even if you have your own personal SmartTrip Card, you will need a separate unique card for this program.”
Students can pick up their cards Monday, Nov. 29 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and pickup times start at 9 a.m. throughout the rest of the week, according to the email. Distribution closes at 6 p.m. Tuesday, 3 p.m. Wednesday and noon Thursday and Friday, the email states.
Officials announced earlier this month that the University will participate in a “free trial” of U-Pass to offer students unlimited rides on Metrorail and Metrobus starting Dec. 1 through the end of final exams before tacking $100 in student fees each semester. Students will receive a “specially-designed” Metro card featuring GW’s logo over the school’s monogram, according to a release WMATA issued Friday.
