Spring Break
Peralta students to vote on "EasyPass"
Referendum will decide fate of student bus pass program
Reginald James
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: News
Some days Jessica Martin gets rides to school. Other days, she takes the bus.
The 19-year-old student usually spends her 20-minute commute to Laney College reading books or playing video games.
With bills, college tuition and textbook costs on her mind, she says she misses the days when she was able to simply pay the youth fare to board the bus.
AC Transit's "adult fare is expensive and unrealistic for college students," says Martin, who graduated from high school nearly two years ago. "And the transbay pass is really expensive," added Martin, who used to take transbay buses to and from her part-time job in San Francisco.
But this year, Martin got a break on bus fare. She is one of nearly 2,000 students who purchased the Peralta EasyPass this year.
EasyPass for Peralta
The one-year pilot program gave full-time students-12 units or more-the opportunity to buy a discounted semester-long unlimited ride pass for $50. The current 31-day local adult pass costs $70.
The EasyPass-a customized Translink Card, which carries the student's photo-lets each student ride on "any line at any time," including transbay routes. The pass can be still be purchased at each campus' cashiers office, and its valid until the end of the first week of the fall 2009 semester.
The program is one of many Universal Pass, or U-Pass programs across the country. AC Transit calls its' programs "EasyPass," and Peralta is the public transportation authority's first U-Pass program with a community college. For a decade, a similar program called the "Class Pass" has been offered to students at UC Berkeley as part of their registration fees.
As a result of Peralta's program, Chabot, Contra Costa and Ohlone community college districts, as well as Mills College in Oakland have expressed interest in U-Pass programs, according to AC Transit.
"Peralta is paying $500,000 for the year-long program, the equivalent of $62.50 per eligible student," according to a GM-Memo for the AC Transit Board of Directors March 11 meeting. "Ridership figures for the Fall 2008 semester show that a monthly average of 947 EasyPass holders took a monthly average of 35,915 total trips."
Peralta Trustee Abel Guillen (Area 7-West Oakland), who advocated for UC Berkeley's Class Pass while a student, thinks the program has been a success thus far.
"For the students who have benefited in these hard economic times (from the EasyPass), it has helped them get to school," says Guillen. "And I hope students will make it permanent," referring to an upcoming referendum where Peralta students will decide the fate of the program.
Student referendum
On April 28-29 Peralta will hold its annual district-wide student elections. In addition to voting for student representatives, students will vote whether or not to extending the pilot program by with a mandatory fee.
"Proposition A: EasyPass" will drop the price of the EasyPass from its current $50 per semester to $31 per semester, along with the minimum units required-which is being reduced to nine (9) units. This follows after many students complained about the unit requirement-especially DSPS students, who are considered "full-time" with only nine (9) units-thus allowing more students to participate.
Proposition A, as approved at the March 24 Peralta Board of Trustees meeting, states "Shall the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees require that full-time students pay a $31 transportation fee for the purpose of providing an AC Transit transbay 'EasyPass' (valued at $696) for each full-time student for the academic years covering Fall 2009 through Spring 2020?" However, length of the program is still being negotiated by AC Transit and Peralta staff. For the purpose of "this proposition, full-time students are students enrolled in nine units or more at the time of the election this spring semester," states the ballot.
However, this program will not be an opt-in, meaning that all students with nine or more units will be required to pay the fee, also making them eligible for the bus pass. But students with "financial hardships may request a waiver from paying the fees."
In accordance with California Education Code-which governs student fees-a majority of the students voting in the election must vote in favor of Prop. A. Also, the total number of students must be equal to the average number of ballots cast in the last three (3) elections. Election results from the three previous years were not available.
Last year, Assembly Bill 1980, the Peralta Transportation Accessibility Act authored by Assembly Member Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland) authorized the Peralta Board of Trustees to allow students to vote to self-assess a transportation fee.
California Ed. Code 76361(d) states that the combined amount of transportation fees and parking lot fees cannot exceed $60 per semester, meaning the current parking lot fees of $40 per semester would have to be reduced.
But not everything has been easy with the EasyPass.
EasyPass difficulties
Over 200 students' passes were deactivated in fall 2008, mostly due to students falling below the minimum units required, according to COA President Dr. George Herring. Herring was Peralta's lead staff prior to the program being taken over by Laney VP of Student Services Dr. Donald Moore.
Other students with over 12 units have also had their passes deactivated, without knowing why. AC Transit and Peralta staff are still investigated the cause.
EasyPasses purchased in the fall 2008 were good until the end of the first week of the spring semester. Martin went to renew her pass in February, but it took over three weeks, multiple calls to the Translink Customer Service line, and a trip to AC Transit's downtown Oakland headquarters to get her pass reloaded.
"First I paid for the pass, but the pass didn't work for three weeks," said Martin. "It eventually started working until it April."
A few other students have had similar issues, but most have not. In the meantime, Martin does with AC Transit speculates other young riders do.
"The past few days I've been paying the youth fare," admits Martin. "They (drivers) will ask me how old I am and about my high school schedule," she adds, referring to the occasional scrutiny she may get from bus drivers.
But Martin maintains that she only gets by with the youth fare because her EasyPass, which costs less than the youth fare, hasn't been working.
"The youth pass is $15 a month, but over the course of a semester it costs $65," said Martin, comparing the youth fare to EasyPass. "Plus I go to San Francisco…so I'd rather use the EasyPass; that way I'm not cheating the system and lying to get to where I need to go."
Saving the planet, money
Data shows that student ridership increases when colleges implement U-Pass programs, as for many; having guaranteed access to unlimited transportation eliminates a barrier to use. The remaining barrier is often lack of familiarity with mass transit and how to use it.
Overall, Martin and Guillen see the EasyPass as a win-win for students, saving students money and reducing carbon emissions.
"I think it's a great deal," concludes Guillen. "We encourage students to ride public transit, get out of their cars…and can save students over $1,000 a year."
And the program couldn't have come at a better time for students.
Faced with a $57 million deficit, AC Transit recently voted to raise fares for both 31-day passes and single ride tickets.
"For adults, the change means a 25-cent increase in the basic cash fare--from $1.75 to $2 for passengers who are at least 18 years old," according to a fare increase summary on AC Transit's website. "In addition, the cost of adult 10-Ride tickets will rise from $17.50 to $20; the $70 adult 31-Day pass will increase to $80 each; transbay cash fares from $3.50 to $4; and the transbay 31-Day pass goes from $116 to $132.50." Fares were not increased for youth, elderly and disabled passengers.
As for the $31 on the student ballot, Martin thinks the fee pales in comparison to other expenses.
"An extra $30? They'll survive," Martin said. "It's not as expensive as textbooks."
Peralta Students for Affordable Transportation (PSAT) have created a website supporting Proposition A. There is no known opposition to the proposition.
For more information about the Peralta EasyPass, visit Peralta EasyPass or call the EasyPass hotline at (510) 466-7363. If you are having issues with your EasyPass, call Translink at (877) 878-8883.
The 19-year-old student usually spends her 20-minute commute to Laney College reading books or playing video games.
With bills, college tuition and textbook costs on her mind, she says she misses the days when she was able to simply pay the youth fare to board the bus.
AC Transit's "adult fare is expensive and unrealistic for college students," says Martin, who graduated from high school nearly two years ago. "And the transbay pass is really expensive," added Martin, who used to take transbay buses to and from her part-time job in San Francisco.
But this year, Martin got a break on bus fare. She is one of nearly 2,000 students who purchased the Peralta EasyPass this year.
EasyPass for Peralta
The one-year pilot program gave full-time students-12 units or more-the opportunity to buy a discounted semester-long unlimited ride pass for $50. The current 31-day local adult pass costs $70.
The EasyPass-a customized Translink Card, which carries the student's photo-lets each student ride on "any line at any time," including transbay routes. The pass can be still be purchased at each campus' cashiers office, and its valid until the end of the first week of the fall 2009 semester.
The program is one of many Universal Pass, or U-Pass programs across the country. AC Transit calls its' programs "EasyPass," and Peralta is the public transportation authority's first U-Pass program with a community college. For a decade, a similar program called the "Class Pass" has been offered to students at UC Berkeley as part of their registration fees.
As a result of Peralta's program, Chabot, Contra Costa and Ohlone community college districts, as well as Mills College in Oakland have expressed interest in U-Pass programs, according to AC Transit.
"Peralta is paying $500,000 for the year-long program, the equivalent of $62.50 per eligible student," according to a GM-Memo for the AC Transit Board of Directors March 11 meeting. "Ridership figures for the Fall 2008 semester show that a monthly average of 947 EasyPass holders took a monthly average of 35,915 total trips."
Peralta Trustee Abel Guillen (Area 7-West Oakland), who advocated for UC Berkeley's Class Pass while a student, thinks the program has been a success thus far.
"For the students who have benefited in these hard economic times (from the EasyPass), it has helped them get to school," says Guillen. "And I hope students will make it permanent," referring to an upcoming referendum where Peralta students will decide the fate of the program.
Student referendum
On April 28-29 Peralta will hold its annual district-wide student elections. In addition to voting for student representatives, students will vote whether or not to extending the pilot program by with a mandatory fee.
"Proposition A: EasyPass" will drop the price of the EasyPass from its current $50 per semester to $31 per semester, along with the minimum units required-which is being reduced to nine (9) units. This follows after many students complained about the unit requirement-especially DSPS students, who are considered "full-time" with only nine (9) units-thus allowing more students to participate.
Proposition A, as approved at the March 24 Peralta Board of Trustees meeting, states "Shall the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees require that full-time students pay a $31 transportation fee for the purpose of providing an AC Transit transbay 'EasyPass' (valued at $696) for each full-time student for the academic years covering Fall 2009 through Spring 2020?" However, length of the program is still being negotiated by AC Transit and Peralta staff. For the purpose of "this proposition, full-time students are students enrolled in nine units or more at the time of the election this spring semester," states the ballot.
However, this program will not be an opt-in, meaning that all students with nine or more units will be required to pay the fee, also making them eligible for the bus pass. But students with "financial hardships may request a waiver from paying the fees."
In accordance with California Education Code-which governs student fees-a majority of the students voting in the election must vote in favor of Prop. A. Also, the total number of students must be equal to the average number of ballots cast in the last three (3) elections. Election results from the three previous years were not available.
Last year, Assembly Bill 1980, the Peralta Transportation Accessibility Act authored by Assembly Member Sandre Swanson (D-Oakland) authorized the Peralta Board of Trustees to allow students to vote to self-assess a transportation fee.
California Ed. Code 76361(d) states that the combined amount of transportation fees and parking lot fees cannot exceed $60 per semester, meaning the current parking lot fees of $40 per semester would have to be reduced.
But not everything has been easy with the EasyPass.
EasyPass difficulties
Over 200 students' passes were deactivated in fall 2008, mostly due to students falling below the minimum units required, according to COA President Dr. George Herring. Herring was Peralta's lead staff prior to the program being taken over by Laney VP of Student Services Dr. Donald Moore.
Other students with over 12 units have also had their passes deactivated, without knowing why. AC Transit and Peralta staff are still investigated the cause.
EasyPasses purchased in the fall 2008 were good until the end of the first week of the spring semester. Martin went to renew her pass in February, but it took over three weeks, multiple calls to the Translink Customer Service line, and a trip to AC Transit's downtown Oakland headquarters to get her pass reloaded.
"First I paid for the pass, but the pass didn't work for three weeks," said Martin. "It eventually started working until it April."
A few other students have had similar issues, but most have not. In the meantime, Martin does with AC Transit speculates other young riders do.
"The past few days I've been paying the youth fare," admits Martin. "They (drivers) will ask me how old I am and about my high school schedule," she adds, referring to the occasional scrutiny she may get from bus drivers.
But Martin maintains that she only gets by with the youth fare because her EasyPass, which costs less than the youth fare, hasn't been working.
"The youth pass is $15 a month, but over the course of a semester it costs $65," said Martin, comparing the youth fare to EasyPass. "Plus I go to San Francisco…so I'd rather use the EasyPass; that way I'm not cheating the system and lying to get to where I need to go."
Saving the planet, money
Data shows that student ridership increases when colleges implement U-Pass programs, as for many; having guaranteed access to unlimited transportation eliminates a barrier to use. The remaining barrier is often lack of familiarity with mass transit and how to use it.
Overall, Martin and Guillen see the EasyPass as a win-win for students, saving students money and reducing carbon emissions.
"I think it's a great deal," concludes Guillen. "We encourage students to ride public transit, get out of their cars…and can save students over $1,000 a year."
And the program couldn't have come at a better time for students.
Faced with a $57 million deficit, AC Transit recently voted to raise fares for both 31-day passes and single ride tickets.
"For adults, the change means a 25-cent increase in the basic cash fare--from $1.75 to $2 for passengers who are at least 18 years old," according to a fare increase summary on AC Transit's website. "In addition, the cost of adult 10-Ride tickets will rise from $17.50 to $20; the $70 adult 31-Day pass will increase to $80 each; transbay cash fares from $3.50 to $4; and the transbay 31-Day pass goes from $116 to $132.50." Fares were not increased for youth, elderly and disabled passengers.
As for the $31 on the student ballot, Martin thinks the fee pales in comparison to other expenses.
"An extra $30? They'll survive," Martin said. "It's not as expensive as textbooks."
Peralta Students for Affordable Transportation (PSAT) have created a website supporting Proposition A. There is no known opposition to the proposition.
For more information about the Peralta EasyPass, visit Peralta EasyPass or call the EasyPass hotline at (510) 466-7363. If you are having issues with your EasyPass, call Translink at (877) 878-8883.
Be the first to comment on this story