Universal Pass Programs

Metro partners with schools, universities, and major employers to provide unlimited transit rides for students, faculty, and employees. See below for participating institutions.

Through a partnership between Metro and Portland Public Schools (PPS), all students attending Casco Bay High School, Deering High School, and Portland High School receive a DiriGo Pass Smartcard or DiriGo Pass Mobile App to to use the Greater Portland Metro system. Metro provides additional trips on Route 9A and 9B on school days to provide transportation to high schools. Students can ride any Metro or Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit (BSOOB Transit) route anytime, 7 days per week, all year long, so long as they’re enrolled at a Portland high school.

The pass also provides transportation access to students after school, nights, weekends, and during school breaks. To obtain a DiriGo Pass Smartcard or DiriGo Pass Mobile App, contact your school directly as they are handling the Metro pass program individually.

New High School Students

New ninth grade students will receive information directly from their school on how to obtain a DiriGo Pass Smartcard or mobile app for use at the end of their 8th grade year. Students entering the Portland Public School for the first time will be oriented to the system shortly after starting at one of the participating Portland high schools.

Returning High School Students

10th to 12th grade students will be able to use the same DiriGo Pass Smartcard or DiriGo Pass Mobile App used the previous school year. New students to the Portland Public School system in these grades (or student who have misplaced their DiriGo Pass Smartcard) should contact the school directly for direction.

Faculty

The Portland high school pass program is currently only available to students. Faculty and staff wishing to ride transit must pay standard fare using one of our standard fare payment methods.

Lost your DiriGo Pass?

Lost transit passes happen! In order to continue riding, please work with your school administrator to get a replacement card issued quickly. Metro does not re-issue student cards directly.

South Portland High School students may ride Metro routes 21, 24A, and 24B by showing the bus operator their South Portland High School student ID. SPHS student ID’s may not be used to board any other Metro or Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit (BSOOB) bus routes. In order to ride other routes aside from Route 21, 24A, or 24B, students must pay standard fare using one of our standard fare payment methods. Note that persons 18 and under are eligible for reduced fare.

Metro is working with the City of South Portland to determine the feasibility of extending a universal transit pass to all high school students. If implemented, this program would likely begin in Fall 2026.

Baxter Academy students ride for free by tapping their student ID.

All MaineHealth employees ride Metro and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit (BSOOB Transit) for free by showing their employee ID to the bus driver. Metro and BSOOB serve numerous MaineHealth locations, including:

Routes 1, 7, 8, 9, and BREEZ – provide access to Maine Medical Center.
Route 4 – provides access to the MaineHealth Brighton campus.
Route 7 – provides access to MaineHealth’s campus on Bucknam Road in Falmouth.
Route 60, operated by BSOOB Transit – provides service to the MaineHealth Scarborough campus.

Metro expects to launch a new route between Portland and Scarborough in July 2026 that will serve the MaineHealth Scarborough campus.

Roux Institute students ride free with their student ID. The closest stop to the Roux campus at 100 Fore St. is the Husky Line stop on Hancock Street near the Wex entrance.

At this time, faculty and other Northeastern University staff are not included in this pass program.

SMCC students can ride Metro and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit free with their student ID. SMCC is served directly by Metro’s Route 21.

USM and Maine Law students and faculty can ride any Metro and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit (BSOOB Transit) buses for free with their USM/Maine Law ID. Metro’s Husky Line provides direct service between the Gorham and Portland USM campuses as well as the University of Maine Law building at 300 Fore Street in Portland.

This program is administered through USM’s Student Affairs office. Any issues with lost or defective cards should be referred to the Student Affairs office.

UNE students and faculty may ride any Metro or Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit (BSOOB Transit) buses free by tapping their ID.

This program is administered through UNE’s Safety and Security office. Any issues with lost or defective cards should be referred to the Safety and Security office.

Don’t see your school or employer? Ask an administrator to reach out to us — we are happy to work with you to implement a program to get more Mainers moving on transit.

Interested in enrolling in a universal pass program?

If you represent a major employer, school/university, social services program, or property manager, we’d love to work with you to establish a universal pass program! Pass programs are generally funded by the organization as a benefit to the organization’s population as a way to ease transportation costs, reduce demand on on-site traffic and parking, and increase mobility.

How it works

Typically, when offered, pass programs apply to a full population at an organization, such as all students, all staff, all residents, etc. Passholders are generally able to ride an unlimited amount across Metro and BSOOB’s full network of transit routes. This universal application and unlimited access are the keys to incentivizing use of transit; requiring opt-in or limiting the number of rides will, in most cases, force users to other modes of transportation.

Funding

In exchange for offering unlimited rides, Metro offers these rides at a discount to the participating employer, school/university, program, or property manager. Organizations are charged on a per-ride basis, at a discount based on the characteristics of the organization.

During the initial launch of the pass program, Metro will typically provide an annual payment cap to protect new partners from unexpectedly high levels of ridership. These caps are typically removed once ridership is stable and able to be budgeted predictably.

Administration

In order to ensure that only the eligible populations have access to a pass program, the active/eligible passholder list is typically maintained by the organization. Organizations have the ability to issue, reissue, or deactivate payment cards as the eligible population changes.

Contact

Interested in hearing more? Reach out to info@gpmetro.org to set up a meeting with Metro staff to go over the details.