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Los Rios and Rio Hondo Community College Districts: Discounted Student Transportation Program
Situation:
The Los Rios and Rio Hondo Community College Districts wanted to create a program offering substantially discounted unlimited bus passes for community college students.
- City buses could be accessed at any time on any route, not just to and from school.
- The passes would be made available at a rate of $2 to $20 per student, reflecting a substantial potential discount of over $1000 per student.
Challenges & Opportunities:
- Due to existing regulations, there were limits on what the districts could charge, even if the students approved being charged a reduced bus fare.
- Despite the incredible value of the offer, the bill faced resistance due to the perception that it was an unwarranted increase to student fees.
- The benefits of more students taking public transportation include:
- Students without any available private transportation could get to school.
- Students choosing the bus instead of a private car would save on fuel costs and parking fees.
- Fewer cars result in less crowded parking areas and neighborhoods.
- Fewer cars result in cleaner air, reduced traffic and made the colleges eligible for grant funding from the Air Quality Management District (AQMD.)
- The transit system could justify the return-on-investment by leveraging the economies of scale based on the large number of students at each campus.
Strategic Approach:
Patrick comments: “Nothing’s easy—this program sounds relatively simple—but nothing is easy in California politics. It requires full-time work to guide through a term-limited legislature.”
To advocate on behalf of the students and the District, McCallum Group:
- Built a coalition between the Districts, the Air Quality Management Board, the local transit districts and the students.
- Strategically chose the author of the bill—Assemblyman Tim Leslie, Dave Jones and Sandre Swanson ran the bill.
- Brought in students who supported the program to share personal stories of the difference that affordable access to public transportation would make.
- Promoted the effort as a partnership between the Community College Districts and the transit agencies.
Mark adds: “Working within a term-limited legislature is like giving a speech to a parade. As soon as you have a relationship developed with a legislative member and they are well up-to-speed on the relevant issues, they are gone. Because of this reality, sustaining momentum on this issue was key to the success of the effort.”
Solution/Outcome:
The program was approved for both Districts, and has been running successfully since 2006.
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