Students, How Do You Get To and From Campus? We Should Have a Say

In a time when colleges and universities grapple with declining enrollment and retention rates, the lack of transportation emerges as a surprising reason preventing some students from finishing college (West). For students like me, who cannot rely on driving, biking, or rolling, public transportation is not merely a convenience—it is a necessity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies transportation as a social determinant of health (CDC), underscoring its impact on access to education, housing, employment, healthy food, health facilities, leisure activities, and later on generational wealth. Transit systems, therefore, are not just indispensable for healthy, equitable forms of community development–they matter for making strong, inclusive universities as well.

University students should have their say in the decision-making processes for public transportation. Otherwise, university officials, city planners, and policymakers miss the whole picture of how students move to and from campus. As long as they do not value our lived experience as expertise, they are not meeting our transit needs and interests as students. I understand that it might be time-consuming and expensive and that they need to draw the line between too little and too much participation; But more voices are exploring how federal funds can be used to compensate participants in public involvement (“Experts Talk: Community Compensation on Infrastructure Projects with Katie Caskey”) which is one of the challenges planners face in involving more citizens in decision-making. This shift is allowing decision-makers to better recognize, communicate, and foster dialogue with the population they serve. Of course, I deeply care about this topic because it affects my everyday life, and I argue that society also has a stake in it. Public interest calls for the necessity to be aware of the struggle inherently attached to the public and make a decision that has an enduring impact on people’s lives. When it comes to public transportation it not only serves a social purpose, but it also helps to fight against climate change and addresses public health concerns and our collective prosperity. Fair transportation decision-making processes contribute to protecting the “health and welfare of residents.” 

Then I wonder, like with disability rights advocate Anna Zivarts, what is so scary about non-drivers’ voices (ericacbarnett)? At the University of Minnesota where I am currently pursuing my PhD in public affairs with a focus on public transportation for students, the parking and transportation services office (PTS) advertises that they have established a framework for the University’s stakeholders to influence transportation policy development as well as transportation programming (Program.pdf). For instance, to engage a wide range of stakeholders in the decision-making process for transportation, PTS uses strategies that include advisory bodies such as the Transportation, Access, and Equity Advisory Board (TAEAB). However, it appears that student riders are not sufficiently represented among the few student associations mentioned on the PTS website (Program.pdf). If decision-makers were seriously committed to addressing this issue, there would be more transparency for student riders. Usually qualified as a wicked problem, addressing more participatory processes for student riders and transportation users in general, will advance transportation equity for all. Actively involving students in the TAEAB will ensure they are given equal opportunity to co-create effective and responsive transit solutions. Now is the time to rethink how university students can guide and advance equitable campus transportation systems. 

Historically, the field of public transportation in the United States has disproportionately affected underserved and underrepresented communities, despite their high reliance on these services. More specifically, this overlooked issue negatively impacts a majority of college and university students, especially disadvantaged students who are immigrants, parenting, working, low-income, and students with disabilities. Take for example this study (“Community & Technical Colleges Transit Map”) which found that only 57% of community college primary campuses have transit stops within walking distance and that an additional 25% could be made easily accessible through very low-cost investments by extending existing bus lines. The study helped to introduce the PATH to College Act (R-PA-1) to increase access to higher education by providing public transit grants. 

Informing transportation planning for weighing the potential benefits and costs of university transportation policy is crucial to both helping keep higher education affordable and accessible (Ward and Walsh) and making sustainable transportation decisions at a campus-wide level. While transportation can be a barrier to higher education, university policies have the potential to significantly alleviate student transportation problems. Advocacy and partnerships are essential for driving social change and enhancing student success. Moreover, mobility solutions are improved when diverse communities come together as a movement that pushes against established power dynamics to generate tangible forms of transport justice. For instance, Minnesota is cited by the TransitCenter (Taege) as a model state for passing HF 2887, “owed to a large and diverse coalition of transit advocates, environmentalists, community groups and the multi-faith community called Transportation Forward.” Their decade-long advocacy, trial runs, and coalition-building efforts culminated in this significant legislative achievement. Given these successes, why can't we foster more partnerships and collaboration between higher education institutions, sectors like transportation, health, and—most importantly—students who should have a voice? Isn't it time, at last, we rally together to create transportation solutions that truly serve everyone?