Over one thousand AC Transit passes lie unclaimed in the Mills College Public Safety office due to students unwilling to pick them up.
Back before students had the clipper card, ASMC wanted transportation passes that would enable Mills students to travel all over the East Bay and Trans-Bay. In addition, the College believed that students would create more connections to Oakland.
In Spring 2009, 84 percent of the undergraduate body voted to have AC Transit passes adopt it. The AC Transit passes are issued to students during Orientation after students pay their $105 fee per school year in their school tuitions. The AC Transit program offers heavily discounted bus fare of a 90 percent discount for a 31 day transbay pass. According to Mills’ homepage, there are about 1500 students, including graduate students, eligible for the pass in the fall semester.
Unclaimed passes are kept in the Public Safety office for as long as the student attends Mills. After the student graduates, their unclaimed pass is removed from the box.
Courtney Anderson, the administrative assistant for Public Safety, has been collecting the unwanted clipper cards in the Public Safety office. Anderson believes that it is important to have the AC transit card because using the bus builds a stronger connection to the community. She also thinks that having the transit passes will reduce cars on campus, making it easier for students who have difficulty finding parking spots on campus during certain hours.
Junior Alexa Barger says she has seen other students admit to not picking up their passes. According to Barger, these students claim that “it isn’t a big deal.”
Barger lives on campus with her car. On days that she does not drive her car, Barger enjoys using her AC Transit pass because she does not have to worry about paying for parking, or dealing with traffic.
Undergraduate commuter Crystal Moncada has not picked up her AC Transit pass because she drives from Brentwood to school everyday . Although having an AC Transit pass would be good for emergencies, it is not pressing for her to pick it up.
“I don’t really have a need for AC Transit since I would take Bart and then the Mills shuttle to school,” Moncada says.
You can pick up your AC Transit cards at Public Safety’s office in CPM 113, behind the clock tower. They are open from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2 p.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
