For students at universities that lie in the heart of major U.S. cities, public transportation is key. As such, it is not uncommon for universities to strike deals with the city's transit authority to allow students to ride for a discounted fare. Unfortunately for students in the D.C. area, no such discount exists.
According to the Metro website, seniors (65+) and disabled riders are the only ones who qualify for reduced fares.
In addition to seniors and disabled riders, children under 4 can ride free with an adult. Older than 5, yet younger than 65? Out of luck. However, the site does mention a student discount:
Special discounted student farecards and passes are available for District of Columbia residents.The aforementioned statement is the only mentioning of a "student farecard" and such a farecard as of now is confined to inner-city public schools, and not universities.
So lets take my situation: I'm 20 years old, a student at GWU and fortunately not disabled. I'm an avid metro rail user, taking the metro to and from the Capitol, Monday through Friday. Since I have to ride during rush hour, each trip sets me back $1.65. This might not seem like a lot, but it adds up. Here's the math:
- (Daily) $1.65 x 2 = $3.30
- (Weekly) $3.30 x 5 = $16.50
- (Monthly) $16.50 x 4 = $66.00
Not only would it lighten the impact on our pockets, but it would encourage more students to use D.C.'s great public transit!
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1 comment:
"not uncommon for universities to strike deals with the city's transit authority to allow students to ride for a discounted fare"
Do you have any examples of this? Many schools with large public transportation systems actually work to provide free transit cards to their students.
So rather than fighting to have a transit system with a huge budget shortfall provide discounts you should be fighting to have GWU pay for transit cards for interested students. A great example would be for GW to provide smart check benefits to students.
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