Sonoma County extends program giving free bus rides to military veterans, college students

College students and veterans in Sonoma County will be able to ride county buses free of charge for another year under a program extended by the Board of Supervisors this month.

Supervisors authorized the extension Nov. 17, saying the pilot program on Sonoma County Transit buses over the past year has bolstered ridership among college students, aided veterans getting to medical appointments and eased traffic congestion and air pollution.

“This is a wonderful way to meet our climate action goals,” said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Susan Gorin, referring to the county’s goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions sharply in the next five years. “If we can get a number of cars off those roads and encourage transit ridership in a pretty suburban, rural county, this is a good thing.”

County transit officials estimate that by the end of the year, the program will have generated nearly 210,000 trips, with the majority from Santa Rosa Junior College students. Of all student trips so far this year, 87 percent are from students at the junior college.

Robert Ethington, dean of student affairs and engagement for the school, said the free transit program has benefited students, especially those who are struggling financially.

“It (is) far more successful than I thought it would ever be,” Ethington said. “This is a wonderful way to eliminate access barriers for many of our students.”

Supervisors first approved the program last year, spending $309,000 under what initially was a one-year program. At the time, officials said they intended to make the program permanent using revenue from Measure A, the proposed quarter-cent sales tax increase that failed at the ballot box in June. The measure was billed as a much-needed way to fund road repairs throughout the county, but supervisors said they would set a portion aside for public transportation.

Despite the tax measure’s defeat, supervisors said they were able to scrape together an additional $236,000 from the general fund to continue the program through next year. Sonoma State University has contributed $17,500 and Santa Rosa Junior College has given the county $60,000 to support the extension. The county’s Veterans Service Office also kicked in $10,000. Total cost next year is pegged at $324,000.

Supervisors indicated they would fund the program for veterans permanently, and expressed interest in offering free rides for college students into the future, but said they didn’t want to continue the same level of funding after 2016. They are pressing colleges to increase their contributions to the program going forward.

Ethington said Santa Rosa Junior College students could consider a fee increase and the school’s administration was also weighing future financial donations.

Supervisor Efren Carrillo urged colleges to take over funding for the student portion of the program, saying he didn’t foresee investing additional dollars for free transit rides on county buses after next year.

“The subsidies have provided an incentive for students to use public transit, but I think without a larger financial stake from the schools, I’m reluctant to do more,” he said.

Supervisors did not take up a suggestion to extend the program to elementary and high school students, but they could consider that step at a later date.

“There have been quite a few high school kids who have contacted my office and said they could use it,” said Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who advocated for expanding the program to all local students. “To me, this seems like it’s a big bang for the buck in terms of getting kids to school. Some of our most disadvantaged kids are forced to choose between getting to school and eating lunch … that really shouldn’t be.”

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.