The increasing cost of transportation is proving to be overwhelming in this economy for some struggling students, making the benefit of a college education another obstacle.
With the purchase of two 2010 Starcraft Allstar hybrid shuttle buses made possible with
a transit grant given through Representative Linda Sanchez, the city of Paramount now offers free round-trip shuttle service for its residents who attend either Long Beach City College or Cerritos College.
Elizabeth Ayala, political science major, has switched from using the Metro bus line to the College Bound bus service, saving her time and money.
“It makes things easy for me because it drops me off right here in front of the school, and it’s near my house and I don’t have to wait and pay for the other bus; it’s saving me money,” Ayala said.
Enrique Bernal, electrical engineering major, is a full-time student and saves over $15 a week by using the free service. He would like other students to take advantage of the free bus service.
He said, “[It] should spread the word around and send fliers to places where it would guess people are going to college, and just tell them there’s a free bus service to community colleges. Hopefully that will work.”
Sandra Martinez, math major, found out about the free rides through world-of-mouth.
“My aunt, who also lives in Paramount, contacted me about it because she knew I came here, so she told me about it and gave me the number for city hall and I called and got the info. I love it, I was relying on the Metro before this, and it was just piling up.”
Both shuttle buses can accommodate four wheelchairs and have a capacity of 22 passengers.
Students can board at four pick-up and drop-off locations throughout the city: Paramount Park, Progress Park and at the corners of Orange Avenue and Somerset Boulevard, and Century Boulevard and Orange Avenue.
Raphael Hernandez, a bus driver for one of the shuttles, would like to see more students be aware and participate in no-charge commute. “This morning, I’ve brought three students. I would love it if more students were using the bus,” he said.
Shuttle bus hours of operation are mornings from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with a turnaround time of 25 minutes.
