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Tell AC Transit: Don't Stop Oakland Refugees From Finishing High School
  1. Signatures
    6,087 out of 7,500
    Petitioning
    1. President, Alameda County Transit Board of Directors (+ 9 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • President, Alameda County Transit Board of Directors (Elsa Ortiz)
      • Director, Ward 2, Alameda County Transit Board of Directors (Greg Harper)
      • Director, Ward 4, Alameda County Transit Board of Directors (Mark Williams)
      • Director at Large, Alameda County Transit Board of Directors (Joel Young)
      • Director at Large, Alameda County Transit Board of Directors (H.E. Christian Peeples)
      • AC Transit Planning Commission
      • AC Transit Marketing & Community Relations (Dennis Lim)
      • AC Transit Planning Division
      • Mayor Quan's Press Contact (Susan Piper)
      • Oakland Mayor Elect (Jean Quan)
  2. Created By
    Oakland International High School
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

In the eyes of Alameda County Public Transit (AC Transit), if you're 19, you're an adult--who pays the $80/month adult fare (instead of the far more manageable $15/month youth fare). But what if you're a high school student who needs to get to school?

This year, 800-900 Oakland Unified School District will be required to purchase the astronomical $80/month adult bus pass just to get to and from school each day. Many of these are immigrant and/or low-income students. While Oakland Unified School District officials are attempting to work with AC Transit to come up with a solution for high school students over the age of 18, there's yet to be any progress. AC Transit — and thus, effectively, the city of Oakland — is sending the message that while school is free, it necessarily costs a fortune to get there.

We need a student fare pass in Oakland for K-12 learners over the age of 18. We have public schools for a reason — so that students can go to school for free. We have agreed, as a nation, that education for all creates a healthier and more productive society. Students in big, urban school districts face enough challenges to succeeding in school. Affording  bus fare simply should not be one of them. Sign this petition to tell AC Transit and Oakland's new Mayor-Elect to create an affordable student bus pass for Oakland's students.

Photo Credit: annnna

 

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Create Student-Rate Bus Pass for Oakland's K-12 Learners

Dear Mayor-Elect Quan and AC Transit Board of Directors:

While I recognize that times are tough for citizens and government agencies alike, there seems to be a segment of the population that is bearing the brunt of AC Transit's fare hikes and poor policies: namely, K-12 students over the age of 18. Since your agency is currently accepting public input on AC Transit fare changes, it seems the perfect time to bring this to your attention and demand change.

There are an estimated 800-900 Oakland Unified School District students who will be forced to buy the $80/month bus pass this year (as compared to their younger siblings and peers, who pay $15/month). Many cities, like NYC, provide free transportation for all its students -- which is what should be happening in Oakland. But even setting that aside, Oakland's adult fares are astronomical, particularly when forced upon students who, by definition of being students, are not active members of the workforce. Our current system sends the message that public school is not, in fact, free -- or even cheap.

Take Oakland International High School (OIHS), for example, which serves recently-arrived refugees and immigrants. OIHS is located in the Temescal neighborhood -- unfortunately quite far from where nearly all its students live. Over 90% of this school's students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and before the school year's end, approximately 75 of these students will be forced to pay the adult fare. Multiply the 75 kids at OIHS who will have turned 19 this year by, say, an average of four months each that they will require adult bus passes this year, and that's $24,000 of low-income family money — just to get to to school.

We need a student-fare bus pass in Oakland. It would be relatively simple: K-12 students over the age of 18 could simply show a student ID at an AC Transit office to get either a paper ticket or the student-rate monthly pass loaded onto their Clipper Card.

We have public schools for a reason — so that students can go to school for free. We have agreed, as a nation, that education for all creates a healthier and more productive society. Immigrant students — and all students in big, urban school districts — face enough challenges to succeeding in school. Affording bus fare simply should not be one of them.

Please make the issue of school transportation affordability an immediate priority.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

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