Recently, the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC) announced that effective May 22, 2015, the bus service that transports students to and from ACTC campuses will no longer be provided. This has caused an outcry amongst many in the student body at Hamline. If you are unfamiliar with ACTC and its benefits to students, the primary benefit is that students who attend Hamline, St. Thomas, St. Kate’s, Augsburg, and Macalaster can cross-register for courses at any of these five schools. With the exception of online courses, cross-registering for a course on another ACTC campus means you will have to get there somehow.

The ACTC bus was the solution to most problems  a student may have getting to their cross-registered courses. So why has ACTC decided to get rid of it? The reason cited in the announcement dispersed among ACTC schools is that “the five ACTC schools are located in a vibrant urban setting with many sustainable and affordable transportation options.” While this may be true, I question how truly accessible and practical these transportation options are. I am not one to bash public transit- I wholeheartedly support creating and using more public transit in the Twin Cities. But the fact of the matter is that semester bus passes (called “College Passes”) currently cost $175 through Hamline, which may not seem like much in comparison with tuition, but is a hefty fee to pay for many students. Last semester I completed an internship in downtown Minneapolis where I commuted via light rail from Hamline, three times a week. My College Pass didn’t pay for itself until the very end of the semester, and just barely. For a student taking a course only one to three days a week at another ACTC school, it is unlikely a College Pass will be a sound financial purchase for them, yet, it is the only unique option provided by Hamline to students regarding Metro Transit.

Sure, students could forgo buying the College Pass in favor of getting a regular Go-To Card where one refills as needed, or simply pay fare in cash, but that is much less reliable and convenient than a College Pass. It also shows a lack of support from ACTC regarding transportation to and from the five campuses, which I believe is the bigger issue. Why can other schools offer a heavily discounted, or even free public transit pass to their students, but Hamline still charges its students the highest price possible for a College Pass? ACTC and Hamline are stressing that students should use public transit, but still have not provided enough financial support for students who require it. There are many benefits to public transit, so I can see why ACTC and Hamline are pushing for students to use it. Public transit is flexible, runs throughout the day, and there are many routes available. In contrast, students riding the ACTC bus had to take one route, and if they missed the bus then they were out of luck. In these ways, Metro Transit is superior. But the fact of the matter is, the ACTC bus was free, while public transit is not. The bus also displayed ACTC’s efforts to provide support for students needing to get to their cross-registered courses.

It is also worth noting that even with the ACTC bus available to students, it is difficult for students to actually get to their cross-registered courses on other campuses due to their schedules at Hamline and the conflicting schedules of the other ACTC schools. I know of students at Hamline whose desired minors or other academic programs are being phased out, and technically they would be able to complete their course requirements by cross-registering. However, the courses they need to take at Hamline make it nearly impossible to fit courses at other schools into their schedules. So while Hamline phases out programs and off-handedly claims students can still complete them via ACTC cross-registration, in all reality, it is not that easy for everyone. The absence of the ACTC bus will make scheduling that is already a hassle even more difficult because students will have to worry about how they are going to get to their classes on time.

The announcement sent out to Hamline students about the cancellation stated that “The Dean of Students Office is working with partners across the university to provide additional support and subsidies toward public transportation for students who will be cross registered at ACTC schools.” Maybe Hamline will provide legitimately better options for students in financial need of them. I hope they do. But I know that when I think about ACTC, I think about the bus, and so do many other Hamline students. Getting rid of this direct link between the schools, along with the already somewhat difficult reality of cross-registering for many students, makes me question the practical purpose of ACTC for students as a whole. If ACTC is cancelling their bus, I hope they are ready to make some serious changes in their transportation options for students at all five schools, not just Hamline.