According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), approximately 87% of college students in the U.S. live off-campus. However, only a tiny percentage relies on public transportation. A 2022 survey by Trellis Research found that just 8% of undergraduate students regularly used public transit for their commute. 

Challenges faced by commuter students

Commuter students often face challenges with public transportation, making their daily routines stressful and inconvenient. 

Students from lower-income backgrounds may live in more affordable areas farther from campus. This situation creates significant challenges regarding housing and transportation, which can act as barriers to obtaining a higher education and may deter them from pursuing it at all.

Dr Susan Kenyon, a Principal Lecturer in Politics at Canterbury Christ Church University, has extensively researched the challenges faced by commuter students. She highlights that commuter students often experience disadvantages compared to their residential peers, including:

- Limited access to learning resources

- Reduced participation in extracurricular activities

- A diminished sense of belonging

These factors can negatively impact academic performance and overall university experience (()).

Solutions for student commuters

Digital journey planning and payment solutions can contribute towards making public transport and other mobility services more accessible to students, so they can make the most of their college experience. 

Below, we outline the main issues facing commuter students and how our solution can help address these challenges and provide cost-effective and accessible transit options.

Long & unreliable commutes

Students often face unreliable transit services, leading to long and unpredictable commutes. As a result, these students spend considerable time travelling, which reduces their available time for studying, decreases their hours of sleep, and negatively impacts their overall college experience.

How Kuba can help

Seamless multi-agency travel: Streamlined contactless or mobile payments across different transit modes and agencies make commuting easier.

Journey planner: Our app’s journey planner helps students find the quickest route to use at different times of the day. Alerts also keep them up to date with any schedule changes.

Limited transit schedules and prioritization of working commuters' schedules

Many public transit schedules cater for working commuters rather than students, whose early morning and late afternoon classes often fall outside transit operating hours or have infrequent services. Limited weekend service can also restrict access to campus for studying, events, or work.

How Kuba can help

Microtransit. Kuba's solution offers an integration that allows riders to plan, book, and pay for various transportation modes, including microtransit, within a single mobile app. 

Transport agencies can offer cost-effective transport outside core hours by delivering microtransit in areas with high commuter student populations.

High transit costs

High public transport costs can create significant barriers for students, which may force students to rely on cars, increasing financial burdens. 

How Kuba can help

Cost savings: Kuba's solution allows transit agencies to offer institution passes to large businesses or educational institutions. These passes are free to the student.

Case studies

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) supports loading of student passes or semester passes to the GoPass app. This gives the holder access to all services including GoLink, which enables students to use microtransit. Southern Methodist University in Dallas ensures that all students are eligible for a free student semester pass issued by DART.  

Likewise, the University of North Carolina, Charlotte offers the CATS Pass, powered by Kuba, to students to give them free unlimited access to all services in the agency’s area. Most of the Charlotte area colleges and universities have pass purchase programs through CATS that provide students with reduced prices when purchasing those passes through the college/university.

With account-based ticketing underpinning contactless and mobile fare payment systems, concessions (such as student discounts) can be linked to a user account to provide automatic value. 

Fare capping: Fare caps set up in the system provide a best fare guarantee for all pay-as-you-go passengers, so there is no need to pay up front to enjoy rewards for frequent travel within a fare cap window, which could be daily, weekly or monthly.  

First-mile/last-mile problem

Many students live in areas where the nearest bus stop or train station is too far to walk to conveniently. In addition, the drop-off stop may be some distance from the campus.

How Kuba can help

Micromobility integration: Kuba's solution can integrate micromobility providers, such as shared bikes and e-scooters, into public transportation systems, allowing users to plan, book, and pay for these first/last mile solutions within a single application.

Creating opportunities

Kuba is dedicated to developing payment technology that removes barriers to opportunities including those provided by jobs and education. Our technology makes commuting easier, more accessible, and affordable for students – and helps enhance their education and overall well-being.