There are many options to get to class on time. One of the options that is heavily relied on is public transportation. When I take the 391 bus, I see three to four LMC students taking the bus with me. Many LMC students use the Bart and Tri Delta buses because of many factors: Not knowing how to drive, not owning a car, etc. Currently, the bus fare is two dollars per ride. But if you take the bus to and from LMC and use the Bart, it’ll run you about four to eight dollars.
Those expenditures can rack up, and might be another financial burden on those of us who are financially unstable. A good solution to this problem is to have the LMC student ID be a free bus pass for anyone with it. If students have a free pass to public transport, it’ll encourage them to take public transit more frequently and help them save on expenditures. I know that EOPS offers bus passes to their students, but if all LMC students had a free bus pass, they wouldn’t have to worry about their ride to and from LMC. This idea is easy to implement because San Francisco State University made public transit more accessible to its students by waiving the fare. To the company, it’ll give them more ridership. Although the bus fare is at a low cost of two dollars, if we waive that cost, it’ll significantly decrease expenditures for an average student. Instead of focusing on the price of transit, they can budget safely for Tuition, rent, and food.
Making Public Transit more economically feasible helps LMC students attend class on time and get from point A to B without worrying about logistics and fares. It’ll help students who use the bus as their primary mode of transit because they can use that service however they want without worrying about budgeting for their day.
Not only does it promote educational growth, but it’ll also help with career prospects by assisting students in getting to job interviews on time. It’ll help LMC students become more punctual with their classes and jobs.
Waiving the bus fare also reduces traffic towards LMC. No one likes trying to beat morning traffic coming into LMC and afternoon traffic coming out of LMC. If more people use the bus, it means fewer cars on the street and less air pollution.
Waiving the bus fare also makes LMC education widely accessible to many people from different walks of life; it invites people from lower-income backgrounds to attend class and focus on their education. The fewer expenditures a financially insecure LMC student can worry about, the more time they can dedicate to their studies and well-being. It’ll give them a pathway to simply live their lives instead of surviving daily.
In terms of physical wellbeing, walking from station to station and using the bus promotes exercise and active travel.
LMC already has two bus stops near campus; they need to utilize that space more effectively by granting free bus passes and supporting free public transport.
