Free transportation available for Wayne State students and employees

Wayne State University students and employees will be able to take advantage of free transportation options throughout campus beginning Sept. 1, thanks to partnerships with  DDOT, SMART, the QLine and MoGo.

The university will subsidize four-hour Dart and annual MoGo passes for all enrolled students, as well as full- and part-time employees, allowing them to ride DDOT and SMART buses, the QLine streetcar, and MoGo bikes at no cost. To participate, users will need to download the Dart app and enter an eligibility code, or sign up using their Wayne State email address on a customized MoGo webpage.

By investing now, the university hopes to help ease pandemic-induced financial stress on students and employees. Navigating campus — including destinations in Midtown and downtown Detroit — involves the movement of approximately 30,000 students and employees, who are vying for one of 12,000 parking spaces scattered across eight structures and 26 surface lots on a daily basis. After arriving on campus, pedestrians rely on various modes of transportation including walking, scooters and cycling. To reach farther points, a number of other options are available.

In recent years, metro Detroit has seen major advances in mobility with the introduction of the QLine, MoGo and SMART FAST limited-stop bus routes. In 2019, DDOT and SMART launched a unified payment system, Dart, which represented another major step forward. Dart passes can be used interchangeably on DDOT and SMART buses and the QLine streetcar.

WSU has been an active contributor and partner in expanding mobility options for the campus community through partnerships with Zipcar, MoGo and the QLine. These partnerships are part of the university’s ongoing efforts to create a 24/7 campus. They also support Wayne State’s Student Success Initiative by offering an affordable way to access campus, as well as neighborhoods, services and jobs across Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties.

WSU began its partnership with DDOT in 2014 and expanded with SMART in 2019 — an association that has provided transportation options and savings for users.