September 07, 2011
Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) and Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) together announced a new pilot program that offers all of SCCC’s over 6,000 students the opportunity to access the entire CDTA route network using college ID cards during the 2011-12 school year.
Officials from SCCC and CDTA signed an agreement for services to commence this fall to run service through the academic year from Sept. 8, 2011, through May 31, 2012. SCCC students can swipe their student ID cards to ride all trunk and neighborhood bus routes, shuttle routes and express services, as well as CDTA’s STAR paratransit service and Northway Commuter Express (NX) services.
SCCC President Dr. Quintin Bullock stated that the program will benefit students who already ride the bus and encourage others to begin taking the bus to the College, which is located directly across the street from a BusPlus station, and on the Route 5 bus line providing direct access to several CDTA routes.
“This collaboration with Schenectady County Community College and CDTA will help our students tremendously,” said Quintin Bullock, President of SCCC. “As our College population has grown to historic numbers, both for traditional and nontraditional students, so has demand for public transportation. Working with CDTA, we are helping meet that demand, allowing students to more expeditiously realize the dream of pursuing a college degree. This is a winning proposition not only for students but the Capital Region as a whole.”
“We’re pleased to partner with Schenectady County Community College to offer their students universal access to all of our transportation services,” said CDTA Chief Executive Officer Carm Basile. “SCCC’s support for public transportation on campus demonstrates their strong leadership in working towards a more sustainable Capital Region and commitment to provide safe and economical travel options for their students. Additionally, our experience shows that increasing access through public transportation services directly contributes to greater school enrollment and enriches student campus life.”
The program, using college IDs as bus passes, makes riding CDTA even more accessible, increases transit options, and offers safe, reliable and unlimited travel to those with valid IDs. This partnership will reduce traffic congestion and parking demand on campus, and is an environmentally friendly way to get around.
Each SCCC student ID contains a digital chip that allows the rides to be counted in CDTA fare boxes with each swipe. CDTA will provide student ridership reports to SCCC as a gauge to assess potential for a multi-year transportation contract. The program is funded through student activity fees.
Last year SCCC acquired six land bike racks to accommodate 24 safe parking spaces at its facility through CDTA’s discount bike rack program further expanding transportation options in support of environmentally friendly travel. This program is compatible with CDTA’s Bikeable Bus program in which all 250 buses are equipped with a double bike rack.
CDTA currently has universal access transportation partnerships with six educational institutions in the Capital Region; University of Albany, College of St. Rose, RPI, Russell Sage, Skidmore and Albany High School – and now Schenectady Community College.
