Beginning today, April 18, some 4,000 free, temporary bus passes are expected to be distributed to UCSB faculty and staff employees, according to Tom Roberts, director of Transportation & Parking Services. He calls them “a promo,” a way to introduce people to the Metropolitan Transport District bus service and to the benefits of joining T&PS’ Transportation Alternative Program.

Each pass will be good for 10 free rides. After that, if an employee likes the arrangement he or she must become a TAP member to retain free transportation to work from home and back, explained Roberts. In other words, give up one’s personal parking permit in exchange for a new way of getting around.

The UCSB-MTD pass system, which is based on a high-tech card called the TAP Passport, allows employees to ride free of charge only between home and work. This is unlike students’ passes, which are good everywhere in the MTD system.

However, the passport also unlocks the doors to the carshare component of TAP. Once a member reserves one of the Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles—three are currently in the carshare pool—online <http://tap.tps.ucsb.edu> the card gets the driver inside and a special PIN code starts the engine.

Housing and Residential Services is also working with T&PS for an expansion of carshare, Roberts has told the Parking Ratepayers’ Board.

In the meantime, preparation for Campus Parking Structure 3 on lot 22, west of the Events Center, has shut down a section of the northbound lane of Ocean Road. “The relocation of underground utilities and the excavation for the new structure adjacent to the road will affect the road between lots 22 and 23 for the duration of the project,” said civil engineer Ray Aronson, project manager. No street parking will be allowed in this area.