GO RIO has been a successful student public transportation program at Rio Hondo College that has provided thousands of students the access to Rio Hondo on various partner bus agencies. The program has reduced auto emissions, eased the demand for on-campus parking and congestion, and has encouraged a generation of students to utilize public transportation as means of daily movement.
Since its inception, it has been funded using Bond funds, federal grants and now funded through a student self imposed fee authorized by the student body via ballot initiative. It has become, in most part, a student owned program.
However, the program was not initially proposed to be limited to full-time students only. This is something the Administration imposed and later written into the student initiative.
Re-Authorization of GO RIO
This Spring 2012 will be the sunset of the student initiative which needs to be reauthorized by May 2012. Before the initiative is put to a vote, I have some recommendations.
Revising GO RIO
The earlier version was not as progressive as I would have liked or planned. Nonetheless, we can now better improve the program.
1) Unit Requirements: It may have been unfair to tax the overall student body and only allow access to the program for full-time students. The majority of fee payers being not full-time 12 unit students. The full-time requirement was imposed by the college to encourage borderline student to take additional units to become full-time. This has caused an unintended negative consequence where some students he personally informed me that they have signed up for courses on;y to meet the requirement for GO RIO, taken unnecessary classroom seats, and even delay their degree completion or transfer.
Unit Requirement Options:
a. Drop the minimum unit requirement to 9. The initial fee would be reflective of an estimate increase in Go Rio students and cost. After each semester the fee would be adjusted based on previous semester ridership with a not to exceed fee amount.
b. Maintain 12 units requirement but allow 9-11 unit students to buy-in to Go Rio with supplemental fee.
Both these options would have a per semester cap on how many Go Rio cards are issued but may increase the following semester with ridership data received from bus agencies.
3) Negative Check Off. The process of collecting the fee should utilize “negative check off” whereby student are assessed the fee automatically and must opt out through an easily accessible petition form to be sign by a college official. (i.e., after reading a FAQ on its benefit)
4) No Exemption Fee Waiver for Go Rio Users. A student receiving a BOGG fee waiver or financial aid status should pay into Go Rio. The Go Rio Card value far exceeds the student assessed fee. College Programs may opt to cover the minimal fee for students unable to pay or the District may opt to cover the cost of these students.
5) External Funding Sources. The college must make Go Rio a grant and legislative priority and actively pursue a consistent external sources of funding from various resources like city transportation funds, federal and state funds, and regional transportation funds.
6) Internal Funding Sources. Explore various potential funding sources on campus like recycling, designated Go Rio vending machines, special paid parking locations, and fund-raisers to supplement the Go Rio program, but NOT in lieu of student fees. Funds may go to scholarships, creation of a mobile application, TAP Card lanyards and holders, and the like.
7) Mobile Application & GPS. District should pursue technological improvements to program. Norwalk Transit has expressed interest in developing a mobile application for line #1 and using GPS for student to see bus locations in real-time.
8) Form Student Rider Group. I strongly recommend a student rider group form to meet at least quarterly or monthly to provide feedback on program and advocate for Go Rio issues.
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