This press bulletin appeared in the Eureka Reporter on August 8th.

Humboldt State University’s new Jack Pass, a universal bus pass to encourage mass transit and reduced fuel consumption, goes on sale Monday. The Jack Pass will enable some 7,000 HSU students to travel on Humboldt County bus systems for free, save car and parking expenses and help protect the environment.

All HSU students will have unlimited free ride access on Redwood Transit System buses, which serve the U.S. Highway 101 corridor from Trinidad to Scotia, including Valley East and Valley West in Arcata, and Eureka Transit System buses, which serve the city. The new RTS and ETS access fortifies the existing program of free rides on the Arcata & Mad River Transit System.

The Jack Pass is funded from a portion of regular student fees. Each semester, $15 of a student’s fees are dedicated solely to the Jack Pass. Showing an HSU student identification card with a current registration sticker to the bus driver will authorize a free ride. Staff and faculty can buy into the program for $60 a semester. Students who buy into the program will receive a sticker at the Student Financial Services window on the second floor of the Student Business Services building that they can affix to their university I.D.

Jack Pass holders will have access to unlimited ride services during mid-semester vacation periods and winter break, provided they were registered for fall semester or are registered for the upcoming spring semester. Staff and faculty will have the same access at those times.

Students enrolled in summer sessions with a summer registration sticker will have access to free bus services from the last day of the spring semester to the first day of the fall semester.

Students not enrolled in summer session who were either registered for the preceding spring or are registered for the succeeding fall semester can take advantage of a summer opt-in rate of $45, prorated for 12 weeks. Staff and faculty will have the same option.

RTS monthly passes for $25 and 10-ride ticket books for $8.50 will continue to be sold at the campus Bookstore to HSU students, staff and faculty.

Further information is available from HSU Parking & Commuter Services at 707-826-3773.