As GRTC faces a potential budget deficit for this year, the agency is weighing whether Virginia Commonwealth University should pay more to continue an arrangement that lets university students and employees ride for free.

Hours before meeting to begin negotiating whether to continue the arrangement beyond the one-year term of the $1.2 million contract, the GRTC board of directors reviewed for the first time how many people affiliated with the university are using the new Pulse rapid transit bus line.

Among board members’ questions: How much would GRTC have made if VCU riders paid for the individual trips they took — especially on the Pulse? And what leverage could the transportation agency use in talks with one of the city’s most powerful institutions?

“The intimidation factor is important. They’re bringing big guns in there,” board member Ben Campbell said of VCU. “We want the deal — it’s a good deal — but we want to make sure we have a good place in it.”

GRTC is working to answer the first question, with a soft launch last month of a VCU bus pass that enables the company to scrutinize school-related Pulse traffic. A one-way trip typically costs $1.50.

VCU affiliates riding the Pulse accounted for about 18,000 —12 percent — of the roughly 146,000 trips taken on the Pulse in January.

There were a total of 77,254 university-affiliated rides counted last month, an increase of 35,000 over the previous month.

GRTC planners told the board Tuesday that data for January likely do not capture all trips taken by people affiliated with the university, as the new cards were issued slowly and were not necessary to board the bus.

Starting Sunday, VCU riders will have to use the new bus pass and their VCU ID to board the bus.

GRTC leaders and supporters say the VCU deal that began in August and the launch of the Pulse at the end of June boosted ridership over the last six months, but the agency hasn’t made as much money as it expected.

According to financial reports handed out at Tuesday’s meeting, the agency’s revenue through the fiscal year continues to be about $1 million short of budget projections. In addition to re-examining the deal with VCU, GRTC officials have been working to crack down on fare evasion by having better trained and equipped inspectors to validate Pulse fare cards.

In tandem with the launch of the 7.6-mile rapid transit bus line between Willow Lawn and Rocketts Landing, GRTC overhauled its entire transit network last summer. Two months later, bus service was expanded throughout Henrico County, introducing new weekend and evening hours for several routes and service to Short Pump.

Ridership in the first half of the fiscal year beginning July 1 grew 11 percent, or approximately 400,000 trips, over the same period last year. Compared with last January, overall ridership last month increased by 147,000 trips.

GRTC board members said they’ll need more VCU rider data to work with as they enter negotiations with the school over the one-year contract that can be renewed or temporarily extended in April.

Interim GRTC CEO Charles Mitchell said Tuesday that VCU wants to expand its relationship with the regional transit company and “do away” with its third-party Campus Connector bus system, but that GRTC has to live up to expectations in the meantime.

The Campus Connector, a VCU-branded bus line that shuttles students between the university’s Monroe Park and MCV campuses, launched in 2004 through a partnership with GRTC. It has been managed by Groome Transportation since 2012, VCU spokesman Mike Porter said.

VCU shifted Campus Connector service last month to have fewer stops, rebranding it the Connector Express. A December news release announcing the changes encouraged students and employees to use GRTC buses to move between the two campuses.

Porter would not elaborate on Mitchell’s comments about the third-party bus service.

“As part of our pilot with GRTC, we continue to monitor service performance and passenger satisfaction as we work to ensure the most reliable and cost-effective transportation options for our university students, faculty and staff and health system team members,” Porter said.

After agency staff members at Tuesday’s meeting described several adjustments to Route 5 that VCU has requested in recent discussions — the route passes through both campuses — several board members said decisions must be made with the rest of the city in mind.

“The bottom line is our goal is to provide the best service for Richmond,” said board member George Braxton. “VCU is a huge part of it, and we want to do it, but we can’t do that to the detriment of the rest of the service.”