Free Unlimited Bus Ridership in Fall 2013
Students will be able to ride CDTA buses for free, starting in the fall 2013 semester, as announced by the school on Dec. 4.
All registered students next academic year will obtain unlimited CDTA ridership beginning on the first day of classes, including students registered in the intersession classes.
Full time and part time students will all be given this service. The service does not extend to faculty and staff.
Many months of effort from a variety of groups on campus, including numerous offices and committees, were involved in the push for a contract to be the signed with CDTA. In the past couple of months, the college administration began to look at the issue and the matter was finalized.
Other colleges throughout the capital region offer free access to CDTA buses as well, such as the University at Albany and Saint Rose. This is being done in an effort to reduce the amount of money students have to pay to get back and forth between campus and home.
The college is paying for 50 percent of the program’s cost, while Student Senate and the Faculty Student Association (FSA) is splitting the other 50 percent.
“The hope of free bus access is that returning and new students in the fall see this as an advantage of Hudson Valley Community College,” said Eric Bryant, Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing.
Students who decide to make use of this unlimited ridership will be saving money that would normally be spent on bus passes or gas.
At present, the Viking’s Cove bookstore offers CDTA bus swipers at a discounted price. The cost of a discounted monthly swiper $45.50, while it would normally cost $65. Next semester, when students will have free access to buses instead of buying swipers, they will potentially be able to save hundreds of dollars during their time at HVCC.
Faculty and staff who purchase bus swipers will still be offered a reduced price in the fall 2013 semester, since the new contract does not apply to them.
Students will be able to use their student ID as a bus pass. However, the pass is not just for bus routes directly coming to the HVCC campus. The free unlimited ridership pass (student ID) will be usable for all available routes at no charge.
Students will also be able to ride the Northway Express routes. These are routes that travel from Saratoga County to downtown Albany, and vice versa.
Special Transit Available by Request (STAR) is a service that will be included in this new contract. This service offers alternatives to people who have difficulty using the CDTA route system because of disabilities or impairments.
For information on which routes and times are available, visit http://tripplanner.cdta.org. This website shows an interactive map, which students can use to find routes and determine the duration of a trip.