In an economy where people are carefully eyeing their pennies, Ventura College students are having to empty their wallets to purchase monthly bus passes.
While Ventura College is small and less expensive in comparison to four-year universities, the phrase “broke college student” still applies. For $40 a month, students can regularly take the local VISTA bus to and from campus. Forty dollars, however, can best be applied toward the purchase of books, school supplies, and enrollment fees.
Every cent counts in this hurting economy.
Marisol Rodriguez, an 18-year-old criminal justice major, agrees that the monthly fee is too high. “I don’t have a pass right now,” she said. “I plan on getting one eventually if it gets cheaper.”
Students who take the VISTA do not receive any sort of discount. They pay the same fees as adult riders. Senior citizens, however, do get a price break.
For seniors above the age of 62 and disabled persons, a monthly bus pass will only cost them $20. Eighteen dollars is a major difference from the $20 more students are asked to pay.
The daily rate also varies tremendously. Students and adults who ride the bus everyday must pay $1.00, while seniors are only required to dish out $0.50.
The reasons behind this discrepancy are obvious and understandable: many senior citizens are retired and have a few less nickels and dimes to pass around.
They are also less likely to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle at their age.
All senior fees aside, it seems unreasonable to separately categorize students and adults when they ultimately pay the same fees.
According to the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), students and adults are two completely different groups of people, yet the prices listed for both types of people remain equal and unchanged.
It seems pointless to even categorize students at all. By putting a label on this specific group of people, the VCTC implies that students will be gaining something out of this, much like a bargain at the movie theater for flashing a student I.D. card.
Of the 400 or so people who ride the VISTA daily, huge portions of that number are students from Ventura College.
Unfortunately, being a college student does not really mean much in the world of public transportation.
Students can pay the monthly bus pass at the $40 student price, or they can purchase the pass at the $40 adult price.
Whatever the case, students are slowly but continually giving up their pennies month to month.
