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RIVERSIDE, CA — April 5, 2010 — Students at two of the three Riverside Community College District (RCCD) colleges have said yes to extending the popular Go-Pass program, which grants them unlimited rides on Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) buses.
During a district-wide vote on March 31 and April 1, the majority of students who voted at the Riverside and Moreno Valley colleges approved an initiative that authorized the district’s board of trustees to implement a $5.50 fee per semester to subsidize the Go-Pass program, which is slated to end in August when current funding expires. The majority of students who voted at the Norco college did not approve the initiative. The program’s expansion will not be official until the district’s trustees authorize the fee, and work with RTA to establish how many years the program should be offered.
“Students have sent a strong message that they value this program, and are eager for it to continue,” said RTA Chairman of the Board Jeff Comerchero. “We are pleased that a growing number of students are choosing RTA for their travel needs.”
Launched in August of 2008, the Go-Pass Program enabled any student in the college district to ride RTA’s fixed-route and CommuterLink buses for free by swiping their student identification cards. Since it began, the percentage of students riding the bus has climbed from 2 percent to 10 percent. That means more than 3,800 students are riding the bus each month district-wide.
For the past two years, the cities of Corona, Moreno Valley, Norco, Perris and Riverside and the County of Riverside have used state air quality improvement funds to fund the program. But beginning in August, the Go- Pass program could be paid for by the students themselves. That wouldn’t have been possible without legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) whose AB 774 allows all California community colleges to charge students an equal fee to support programs such as the Go-Pass.
A recent RTA study credits the program with removing 30,000 vehicle trips to campus each month and taking literally tons of harmful vehicle emissions from our air. Plus, it has eliminated the need for more than 1,000 parking spaces, which, with a $17,550 price per parking space if a parking structure is needed to handle that traffic, equates to more than $17.5 million that the school could use for academic purposes.
The Riverside Transit Agency provides public transportation for Western Riverside County, operating 39 fixed routes, 7 commuter routes and Dial-A-Ride service. RTA’s service area spans 2,500 square miles, the second largest in the nation. For bus route and schedule information call RTA at (800) 800-7821 or go to www.RiversideTransit.com. |
