The Travelin’ Grampa Touring the U.S.A. without an automobile

Focus on safe, fast, convenient, comfortable, cheap travel, via public transit.

Vol. 11, No. 9, September 2018 Photo credit: Sydney Chang, .

AC Transit recently introduced a new 51C bus route to serve the Berkeley campus of the University of , which also is served by its 51A and 51B buses, two of its busiest routes, with more than 19,000 riders daily, linking Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda and intermediate stops, including four BART subway-elevated rail system stations.

September is back to school month for public transit When Grampa was a boy, presenters from the local public transit system came to his elementary school once a year, putting on an interesting, entertaining and educational show, emphasizing how to ride enjoyably and safely on its streetcars and buses. He recalls they cited the perils of boys “hitching rides” on the sides of a trolley car, or of roller skating while holding onto one. Decades afterward, public transit systems seemed to largely ignore kids, focusing instead on daily commuters. Lately, however, as the following pages attest, they are paying attention to kids again. Small wonder. Of the 1.6-million Transit Authority weekday riders, for example, some 135,000, one in 10, are of school-age. About 107,000, ride on buses and 28,000 on “L” (subway elevated) trains. This seems typical. Nationwide, 10% of bus and 4% of rail riders are age 19 or younger, while 7% are students, says an American Public Transportation Association report.

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CTA brings back presentations to school students After a hiatus of several years, the Chicago Transit Authority is again giving school students lessons in traveling safely and enjoyably via public transportation. Last year, it did three elementary schools. This year, it’s doing all Chicago public elementary schools. Using the motto Be Safe on CTA, it’s a 30-minute video and speaker presentation, followed by a Q&A session. Students get an activity book filled with puzzles, quizzes and coloring pages. A large poster for the classroom is given to the teacher. CTA student fare (ages 7 to 20) is 75¢ during school hours. Adult cash fare is $2.25 for bus and $2.50 for an “L” ride. Transfers during school hours 15¢ vs. the usual 25¢. Kids up to age 7 ride free at all times when with a fare paying adult. Gold Coast Transit, Oxnard, Calif., also does such school visits.

L. A. Metro prefers students visit it on a field trip Some transit systems prefer students come to them, rather than they go into schools preaching transit use and safety. Typical is L.A. Metro’s student field trip program for County students in grades 1 to 12. It welcomes groups of up to 40 students, plus four faculty and chaperones, trips on Metro bus and/or rail lines to/from any of 21 destinations. Prior to the trip, participants get a “course” in public transit, etc. Metro says it provides “appropriate fare media.” Translation: free rides to/from.

Kansas students ride free school days & summertime Parents in school districts where public transit provides students free rides, instead of the district maintaining its own big fleet of yellow school buses, are increasingly pressuring authorities to provide free rides to students during holidays, weekends and summer vacation time. Among latest to offer free rides to students during school days and summertime is Topeka Metro. While Topeka Unified School District arranged for free bus passes for middle and high school students for the 2018-19 school year, Topeka Metro offered summertime (May 14 – Aug. 15) rides to youths ages 18 and under. The transit system has done so since 2013. Past fiscal year, it provided 42,728 such rides.

Topeka Metro provides free rides to visit grandparents “Topeka Metro supports our schools, and believes this is what we should be offering to our community – fully integrating our community with public bus service,” says Susan Duffy, general manager. As for the transit system’s Kids Ride Free initiative, she adds: “This provides a safe, reliable way for kids in our community to get to where they need to go during the summer months while saving money. They can ride the bus to pools, the mall, meet their friends or visit grandparents.”

Philly area’s SEPTA has a Youth Advisory Council Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has a Youth Advisory Council, members of which are riders ages 14 to 22 from high schools and colleges in , Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties, its general service area. First formed in 2009, the council “advocates student needs, assists in creating promotions, provides outreach to the region's youth, and educates peers about services and special events,” says SEPTA.

CTA gives away $150,000 in rides on first day of school On first day of school, Chicago Transit Authority offers free rides to students and accompanying family member. It’s estimated these 147,000-or-so free rides would cost around $150,000 if riders paid regular fare. Free ride program began Sept. 2011. CTA student fare is 75¢ from 5:30 am to 8:30 pm Mon.-Fri. Adult cash fare $2.25 bus, $2.50 “L” train. Senior $1.10 bus, $1.25 “L” train.

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Photo credit: Simon Greenhill, The Daily Californian; Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, aka AC Transit.

UC Berkeley student shows AC Transit bus driver her EasyPass (sample at right) that provides students unlimited free AC Transit rides. It’s also a reloadable farecard for BART, and Muni rides.

AC Transit EasyPass gives Berkeley students unlimited free rides University of California - Berkeley is doing away with bus pass stickers on student ID cards. Instead, its 35,000 students will use county bus system AC Transit’s EasyPass Clipper farecard for unlimited free rides on AC Transit buses. , campus bus system, also switched to the EasyPass card. In addition, the card serves as a reloadable “smart” Clipper farecard, accepted by the BART subway- elevated system, Caltrain regional railroad, San Francisco Muni bus and rail system, and 19 other public transportation systems, including ferryboats. Northwestern Polytechnic University and Mills College also now use EasyPass Clipper card. UC Berkeley has used sticker-type bus passes to provide free rides since 1999, paid for by all students as part of their semester student fee. Stickers “posed numerous problems for bus operations, since they could not deactivate the passes or stop people from selling or replicating them,” AC Transit spokesperson Robert Lyles told The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley student-run newspaper.

Photo credits: Metropolitan Transportation Commission; ; San Francisco State University.

Regional Transit Connection Senior Clipper card, BART Youth Clipper, and San Francisco State University Gator Pass.

BART & Muni accept Gator Pass as a farecard BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and Muni (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency) recently began accepting San Francisco State University’s electronic photo ID Gator Pass as a discount/free ride farecard. It now provides a 25% discount on BART rides to and from Daly City BART station, while also offering unlimited Muni bus and rail rides. The card also serves as a: library card, print/copy card, access card and meal plan card. Only good during the school year, not during summertime or winter break. Also, not accepted for rides on San Francisco cable cars, the Caltrain regional railroad, and suburban transit systems such as AC Transit, , and SamTrans. Grampa has a Senior Clipper card, which any senior traveler to the Bay Area should get. It gives better a 50% discount or better on most bus, rail and ferry rides there.

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Students hear they can shape passenger transport’s future Every other year, the American Public Transportation Association holds an event where 50 high school juniors and seniors learn about the importance of and career opportunities it offers. Latest one was last year in Washington DC, where APTA is HQed. Student participants learned what the public transit industry is today, what it could become in the future, and roles they could play in helping shape the industry of tomorrow. In our nation’s capital, the noun “summit” conjures up an image of presidents and premiers at a highest-level gathering. Thus, APTA chose Youth Summit as the title for this annual event. Students learn about: public transport’s economic and environmental benefits, how it helps communities prosper, the impact on it of local, state and federal policies, and the many likely career opportunities. Students toured Capitol Hill, U.S. Dept. of Transportation offices, and local bus and rail system control centers. Industry managers and experts described various career tracks, suiting a wide range of individual interests. For more: https://youtu.be/CujuD9VoyCQ

Photo credit: American Public Transportation Association.

High school juniors and seniors at APTA June 2017 annual Youth Summit pose with Doran Barnes, APTA chairman.

Transit systems hold annual Career Day for students In the next several years, more than half the public transit industry workers is likely to retire. So, the American Public Transportation Association has launched a National Public Transportation Career Day, aimed primarily at – not college students – but those in grades K thru 12. In response, a number of transit systems held a Career Day this past May 17. Some gave students tours of their vehicles and facilities. Others went to schools, providing interactive demonstrations. APTA hopes to encourage every USA transit system into holding such an annual event.

Photo credits: YouTube, Valley Metro, Chicago RTA; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

L to R: Phoenix RTA and Chicago RTA Career Day YouTube videos, Philly area SEPTA Career Day classroom session. SEPTA, a few years ago, held a Careers in Transit Week poster contest, with ten schools participating. Among other systems holding Career Day events: Foothill Transit in southern California, Go Triangle in North Carolina, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), HQed in Tampa, Florida.

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Photo credit: San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Some of the students at the 2018 Yes Conference at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., sponsored by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Teens wildly support transit at West Coast enviro conference On a Saturday in February, more than 1,000 teenagers from the San Francisco Bay Area gathered at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., for the 5th annual YES Conference. * Enthusiasm abounded for topics ranging from climate change to better ways of encouraging students to walk, bike, ride transit or carpool to school and other destinations. Somehow, they maintained a football pregame rally spirit during more than 50 session presentations. Sponsoring the conference: Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, aka the Bay Area MTA. For more: www.sparetheairyouth.org/2018-yes-conference For a nifty video about the conference: https://youtu.be/OpH6nJMsSlQ * YES is an acronym for Youth for Environment and Sustainability.

Students ride free in Washington DC and in Washington state Thanks to a District of Columbia government subsidy, a Kids Ride Free arrangement lets students ages 5 thru 21 ride without paying on Metrobus, DC Circulator bus and Metrorail subway lines to go to/from school and school-related activities within the district. To qualify, they must be a district resident and enrolled at an elementary or secondary public, private, charter or parochial school in the district. As of the present semester, the students use a new KRF SmarTrip farecard. ’s public high-school students now get special ORCA farecards, allowing year-round free rides on buses and light rail, after Mayor Jenny Durkin proposed and the Seattle City Council approved up to $7-milion annual funding for the arrangement. Also qualifying: students attending Seattle colleges on city-funded scholarships. “This makes Seattle the largest city in the country to provide free year-round transit to all high-school students,” said a mayor’s office spokesperson.

Houston kids rode Metro bus and rail free this past summer Harris County Metro issued a Summer of Fun pass this year, letting kids use their existing student discount fare card, held by students in grades K thru 12. Between June 1 and Sept. 1, when they tapped it on a Metro card reader, no fare was deducted.

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Kids find Community Transit education session lots of fun Community Transit, formerly named Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation, HQed in Everett, in the state of Washington, is said to have one of the nation’s best transit education activities for K thru 12 school students. Conducted by Steve Peters, whose title is Education Coordinator, the 30-minute classroom presentation involving “imitations, characters, stories and enthusiastic imagination ... will keep the students laughing as they learn,” it’s said. Immediately following, students and teachers join Steve for a half-hour bus ride on a 60-foot articulated bus, a “rolling classroom” where kids can sit in the driver’s seat – while it’s not in operation, of course. For more: www.communitytransit.org/programs/step

Photo credits: Fairfax Connector, Fairfax, Va.; Community Transit, Everett, Wash.

Left: This farecard lets kids in Fairfax County, Va., ride free on county bus system buses. Right: Community Transit education coordinator waves to school students who find his public transit education presentations lots of fun.

New York City kids ride to school free on subway or bus The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority gives 300,000 schoolchildren Metro cards containing free passes to ride a subway train or bus to/from school. In not a few instances, the trip involves riding both. Another 285,000 receive reduced-fare cards.

Bus systems in DC suburbs give students year-round free rides The Ride On bus system of Montgomery County, Maryland, issues a Youth Cruiser SmarTrip card that lets kids ages 18 and under ride free during off-peak times all year-round. It also gives free rides on some Metrobus routes within Montgomery County. Kid must be a county resident. Card costs $2. Fairfax County, Virginia, has a similar Student Bus Pass SmarTrip card for its middle and high school students. It’s good for free rides on Fairfax Connector buses and City of Fairfax CUE buses.

List of systems giving student free rides is growing Roanoke, Virginia., is among the latest to give kids age 18 and under free rides. It did it by increasing regular Valley Metro (aka Greater Roanoke Transit Co.) bus fares 20%. City transit advocates say it will encourage a culture of bus-riding necessary for the bus system’s future. SunLine Transit Agency, Riverside County, Calif., has started letting College of the Desert students ride free. With a grant from California’s Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, it hopes to work out similar arrangements with other educational institutions and school districts. Riverside Transit Agency, in the western parts of the county, meanwhile, let kids ride for only 25¢ this past summer. Its usual youth cash fare is $1.50, same as adult. Senior fare, of course, is 70¢, as required by FTA regs. Sheboygan, Wisconsin, students also can now ride Shoreline Metro buses free year-round. In Portland, Oregon, TriMet (aka Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon) also now gives student pass users free rides.

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Photo credits: ; University of California at Davis; Rutgers University Dept. of Transportation.

Stanford Marguerite shuttle bus. UC Davis Unitrans vintage double-decker. Rutgers DOTS Route LX bus.

University bus systems serving the general public Campuses of many universities are spread out all over the place. Others have smaller campuses miles away. To move faculty, staff and students from one place to another, they maintain their own transit systems. Sometimes they work out a partnership with a local government, governments, or regional transportation system. Following are campus bus systems with which Grampa is familiar. They exclude major metropolitan areas that have major regional transportation systems, such as , Chicago, , New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, etc.

Ames, : CyRide has 12 bus routes in the city and campus. Cy is the mascot of the athletic teams. Students ride free. Adult fare: $1, senior age 65&+ 60¢.

Ann Arbor, Mich.: On its 36 fixed routes, Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA), aka TheRide, lets ride without paying a fare: all University of Michigan students, faculty and staff, including part-time students, temporary employees, emeritus professors, and retirees having a continuing relationship with the university. University pays their fares.

Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson Area Transit, aka CAT and CAT Bus, is the state’s busiest public transit system. It provides free rides to students, faculty and staff of Clemson University, Clemson city and Anderson County residents and visitors, as well as those of the towns of Central and Pendleton.

Davis, Calif.: Unitrans 20 bus routes serve the University of California at Davis and its environs. Though widely known for its London double-deckers, most of its fleet is modern single deckers. General public adult fare $1.25. Senior ages 60&+ rides free by showing UC Davis issued pass or Medicare card.

Fayetteville, Ark.: Razorback Transit, the University of Arkansas bus system, also serves Fayetteville residents and visitors. All fixed route bus rides free. Operates Mon.-Fri. 7 am -6 pm, Sat. 7 am – 10:30 pm. No Sunday service. Also provides share-ride paratransit.

Hartford, Conn.: CT Transit’s new #913 Buckland-Storrs Express bus links University of Connecticut campus with downtown Hartford. In 2017, its first year, it had more than 115,000 riders, more than half using U-Pass, a $20-per-semester CT Rail/ train and CT Transit bus pass for state universities and community college students.

Iowa City, Iowa: Iowa City Transit serves the city and the campus of the University of Iowa. Students get a deep discount on passes good on its 29 Iowa City Routes, 7 neighboring Coraville suburb routes, and 16 campus Cambus routes. Adult fare $1, senior ages 60&+ 50¢ off-peak (Mon.-Fri. 9 am - 3:30 pm, after 6:30 pm, and all-day Sat.) with senior pass. Low income senior rides free, with pass. Visiting senior ages 85&+ pays 50¢ off-peak times by showing Medicare card.

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Ithaca, N.Y.: Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, aka TCAT, is jointly run by the city of Ithaca, Tompkins County and Cornell University. Its 33 bus routes serve city and county residents and visitors, students, faculty and staff of Cornell University, Ithaca College, Tompkins Cortland Community College. Buses serve campuses, plus shopping, entertainment, residential and other areas. Operates 22 hours a day, seven days a week, 360 days a year. Adult cash fare: $1.50 (zone 1), $2.50 (zone 2). Senior ages 60&+ 75¢ and $1.25. Transfer free (allowing up to two transfers).

New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Dept. of Transportation Services, aka DOTS, is a no-fare bus service for students, faculty and staff at and between its four New Brunswick, 12 Newark and three Camden campuses. DOTS buses also stop at the Newark Amtrak and NJ Transit railroad station. With 30 fixed bus routes plus paratransit. It is the second-largest bus service in New Jersey, after NJ Transit, the USA's third largest bus, rail and light rail transit operator. To ride, someone usually has a Rutgers ID.

Sonoma County, Calif.: Santa Rosa Junior College students ride free on any bus line, any time on Santa Rosa CityBus, , and , by showing their SRJC Cub Card to the bus driver when boarding. SRJC students ride free for travel anywhere in Sonoma County, not just for trips to and from campus.

Stanford, Calif.: Marguerite is a free bus service provides its students, faculty, staff and the general public. It has 19 routes on and off the campus, the latter including popular shopping centers, Palo Alto Hospital and Palo Alto’s transit center, which also is a Caltrain regional railroad station.

State College, Pa.: Centre Area Transportation Authority, aka CATA, has 24 bus routes, plus four fare-free campus routes. These connect: downtown State College, Penn State Campus, the borough of Bellefonte, village of Pleasant Gap, suburban shopping centers, apartment complexes, residential areas, medical facilities, governmental offices, etc. Adult cash fare $2. Seniors 65&+ ride free when using proper ID. Pennsylvania Lottery pays senior fares.

Tallahassee, Fla.: StarMetro Transit lets ride free on any bus Florida A&M and Florida State University students, and K thru 12 students in Leon County. Adult cash fare $1.25, senior 60¢.

Tuscaloosa, Ala.: Crimson Ride’s 12 bus routes serve students, faculty, staff, and city residents and visitors traveling in and around the University of Alabama campus. In 2007, it replaced previous campus- based bus routes of Tuscaloosa Transit Authority. Crimson Ride charges no fare.

Photo credit: Facebook, Santa Cruz Metro Transit District.

Buses at the 2018 APTA Universities Conference in Santa Cruz, Calif., hosted by Santa Cruz METRO, the local transit system. Transit pros from all over came there to discuss partnering with colleges and universities. ______© 2018, all rights reserved. The Travelin’ Grampa is published monthly by John A. Moore Sr., journalist, P. O Box 636, Clifton Heights PA 19018-0636. One-year (12 issues) by email: $75. Special discount to U. S. residents ages 62&+.

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