Thank you for covering the UB Transportation forum held last Thursday. I am a strong supporter of UB students having access to discounted Metro passes. For about the cost of one roundtrip subway ticket each weekend for one semester ($50), students could have unlimited access to all of Metro's busses and the subway all year round, including rides to the airport. Students "stranded" on North Campus could get to hang out in the city and be a little better prepared for real life, all the while having fun downtown (or at any of Metro's other destinations)!!
Climate Action Student Advisory Council presented a proposal recently to the SA Senate in favor of SA partially funding Metro passes for all students, which was rejected; the Senate called for a student survey. One comment made was "What do Metro passes have to do with activities?" referring to the fact that SA is funded by Mandatory Student Activities fees.
Students, that is for you to decide. If you haven't done it before, perhaps now would be a good time to email the leaders in SA and let them know what you think. They didn't face opposition in the election, and declared they were mainly interested in making clubs happy, so this might be a good opportunity to make them listen to you (sa.buffalo.edu).
Another point that I've heard several times was mentioned by Parking and Transportation director Maria Wallace: "I don't feel like students who don't need it should have to pay for it." However, all students could benefit from having Metro passes, even if they don't feel a "need" for it. That is unlike the parking component of the Comprehensive Fee ($58) which 3,800 UB students without parking permits clearly derive no benefit from, but pay for every year.
Lastly, as a response to the transportation editorial, which called for parking garages and foresaw that public transportation was ill-suited for a suburb with a large student population, I contend that the author missed a point. I agree that perhaps at this moment in time, Metro would not be prepared for a sudden drastic increase in ridership. But the benefit of adding so many people onto the system is that you have the advantage of negotiating power: UB could make sure that Metro adapts to suit UB's needs.
Anyhow, shouldn't UB be doing more to support public transportation instead of driving in the face of climate change and an influx of more students?
Sincerely,
Kelly Miller
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
