This semester I more than doubled the number of times I have taken the bus (4 times this semester, 7 times in the last five years). Why this explosive growth in my personal bus travel? Could it be those sleek new hybrid buses? Perhaps. Could it be a wavering in my love for the bicycle? Absolutely not. I attribute my increased ridership to the Jack Pass, Humboldt State University’s universal transit pass.

This article appeared in the Lumberjak on Sep 5, 2007.

Journal Editor:

I'd like to offer some corrections to Matt Jackson's "On the bus" story [appeared in The Journal, 16 August 2007].

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.

These arguments were produced for President Richmond to use in his meeting with Chancellor Reed to seek support for Jack Pass.

Note: This was the policy proposal that was submitted to HSU administrators by Chris Rall and Aaron Antrim. In its implementation, parts of the JackPass program will be changed from the student proposal.

JackPass is about to become the next blockbuster campus-wide sustainability effort on the HSU campus. It is a proposal to provide every HSU student with an unlimited-ride bus pass for the county-wide Redwood Transit Service and the Euerka Transit Service for a modest fee. This spring, JackPass will appear as a ballot initiative in HSU's annual Associated Students election. Here's why JackPass going to be a milestone for environmental and social responsibility on-campus and in the community.

This resolution in support of the Jack Pass proposal was passed by Associated Students on Monday, 25 September 2006

• Students have too many fees already. Why is this fee justified?
• We already ride the local Arcata bus for free. Why should we have to start paying for it?
• I don’t ride RTS because the schedule does not meet my needs. How will this program fix that?
• I’m not going to use this service. Why should I pay for it?