Safety and Transportation — Summer Update

JUNE 25, 2025

Dear Students,

We'd like to share some key findings from this year's campus transportation and parking survey and steps we are taking to respond to the input, along with information on upcoming changes to the UGo NightRide program. We are also sharing reminders about some transportation and safety resources available at UChicago. 

Campus Transportation and Parking Survey

We recently conducted a campus-wide transportation survey to help us better understand and respond to the needs of our community. Usage of UChicago transportation increased compared to the last survey in 2019, with two-thirds of respondents indicating they consistently used two or more kinds of University-offered transportation over the last 12 months.

Among students who responded to the survey, 44 percent reported using Daytime UGo Shuttles, up 31 percentage points from 2019. Reported usage of UGo NightRide shuttles decreased significantly since the 2019 survey, to about 13 percent among students. We are making changes to UGo NightRide, described in the next section, in response to this change in usage.

The survey also indicated areas for improvement, which we are working to address:

Many respondents requested improvements to the PassioGo! app, with about half of respondents saying they are somewhat or very dissatisfied with the app. We continue to work with the app developers to improve real-time shuttle tracking, increase arrival data reliability, and suggest other changes to improve the user experience.

In addition, many respondents asked for more communication about UGo Shuttle route changes, delays, and service outages. To respond to this input, we will now share alerts about route changes, delays, and outages on UChicago Safe’s Instagram and X channels, in addition to the PassioGo! app push alerts we currently send.

UGo NightRide Service Changes

Helping you get around campus safely and efficiently at night is a top priority. This past academic year, the University launched RideSmart by Via with unlimited rides in the service area to make late-night transportation faster and easier. Via is now the preferred nighttime transportation option for students, with more than 1 million rides requested since launch, and wait times averaging under 7.8 minutes.

As Via ridership increased, ridership of UGo shuttles after midnight essentially stopped. In light of this change and after reviewing your survey feedback, starting on July 1 we are changing part of the nighttime schedule going forward:

  1. UGo NightRide shuttle service will end at 12 a.m. across all routes.
  2. Most NightRide routes will operate at 15-minute intervals from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and then 30-minute intervals for the duration of service.
  3. The South Route shuttle will operate at 30-minute intervals for the duration of service.
  4. The Regents Express and South Loop routes will not change.
    5.

These updates will enable us to focus on transportation options that fit your evening and late-night routines.

Remember that all students have access to unlimited rides with RideSmart by Via from 5 p.m. until 4 a.m., seven days a week.

Additional Resources

If you haven't done so already, we encourage you to download the UChicago Safe mobile app and follow UChicago Safe on Instagram, Facebook, and X for helpful and timely safety-related information.

We wish you a safe and enjoyable summer.

Sincerely,

Mike Hayes, Dean of Students in the University

Eric M. Heath, Associate Vice President for Safety & Security

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