In an effort to broaden resources available to students, the Department of Parking and Transportation Services is considering a program named Unlimited Access, one which could increase the University"s partnership with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.

Patrick Cunningham, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said if the department chooses to negotiate with AATA, the proposed program, which would cost more than $600,000 annually, would offer increased bus services to students.

"Anyone with an M-Card would be able to ride regular AATA buses fare-free," Cunningham said.

"Unlimited Access would offer transit routes seven days a week," Cunningham said. "Downtown Ann Arbor, Briarwood Mall, and other entertainment and social places in the city can be opened to students on the weekdays and weekends," he said.

Cunningham said this service would be one component of furthering a partnership with AATA but would be put through careful consideration before implementation.

"I don"t think it will be possible to implement by September," Cunningham said. "I don"t want to implement anything without input from the students."

But many University bus drivers have already voiced concern about how negotiations with the AATA would affect their jobs.

"Unlimited Access would not adversely affect our staff members. Some of our own drivers would feel this is a very good program," Cunningham said.

After consideration of the recommendations made in a 1999 Student Access Study and a transit study conducted by University consultants in Minneapolis, University transit officials have decided the pursuit of Unlimited Access may be the next step.

"We"ve been looking at the studies for awhile. The study got us talking about how we can better partnership," Cunningham said.

Donald Schoup, a former University economics prof. and Director of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, conducted research for one of the documents studied by the University.

"In Ann Arbor the University is at the center of the transit system," Schoup said. "It"s much easier for the University to use transit than build parking structures."

Schoup said until students have experienced it, it is difficult to presume their acceptance of the program, but overall, students at universities nationwide tend to respond positively to the program. Most students would never have considered using the transit system but are amazed once they try it, Schoup said.

If the University decides to try Unlimited Access, it will join the University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin, Indiana University and the University of Colorado, several of the more than 50 universities that have already implemented the program.

Jared Seidenberg, coordinator of the University of Colorado at Boulder"s Alternative Transportation Committee, said Unlimited Access was instituted in 1995.

Similar to the University of Michigan"s campus, Boulder has limited parking to meter and parking lots. The service lots on campus are congested with faculty traffic. As a result of constant traffic, students and faculty have been encouraged to utilize the transit system.

"Most days it"s quicker to get around Boulder by bus than by bike or car," Seidenberg said.

At Boulder, Unlimited Access is provided at a small fee each term, costing students close to $21 per semester.

"We have the entire city mapped out with a grid," Seidenberg said. "It works great and is continually evolving."

Cunningham said if the department reaches a decision about the program by the end of the semester students, faculty and staff will become more knowledgeable about the specific benefits to the community before the system is put in place.

The director plans to meet with staff members in the next couple of weeks to address job safety concerns. The department will also be holding two public forums at the end of the month for students to air their views.