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Transportation and U-Pass

Getting around

Northwestern has free, dedicated services to help you navigate campus safely. Safe Ride has partnered with Via on-demand transportation service to provide a safe and free alternative to walking alone at night. Additionally, the NUGuardian App is a peer-to-peer mobile app that turns your smartphone into a personal safety device. 

In addition to walking or driving to Northwestern, there are several transportation options available to TGS students:

U-Pass

The Graduate School (TGS) and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) provide the CTA University Pass (U-Pass) to eligible full-time, part-time, and online TGS graduate students through a quarterly TGS U-Pass Transit Card Fee. The CTA U-Pass program uses fare cards called Ventra, a contactless payment system that serves as a U-Pass. Benefits of this system include:

Note: New students must submit a valid photo to the Wildcard Office in order to receive a U-Pass. New students typically obtain a Wildcard the week before classes start. 

Students enrolled in the BS/MS program, TGS 512 (continuous registration), or TGS 514 are not eligible for a U-Pass. 

Should you have any questions, please see the U-Pass FAQs page or contact tgs-u-pass@northwestern.edu.

 U-Pass FAQs