The parking hassles that plague this campus have been exacerbated by recent construction. Traffic, vehicle maintenance, insurance, the expense of parking permits, the high price of gas and the difficulty of finding a parking space all contribute to the frustration students sometimes feel when faced with the daily problem of getting to class on time. Fortunately, there is another way to get to school: mass transit, specifically the Glendale Beeline or the Los Angeles Metro.
The Glendale Beeline’s routes 3 and 7 are two of the most frequently used methods of public transit. Beeline bus driver Daniel Rivera says, “there are usually 150 students riding back and forth on my bus.”
The appeal of using the Beeline is the inexpensive fare of 25 cents, and there are more stops on its actual route than the Metro.
The 7 connects from Burbank to GCC. The 3 goes from the Glendale Galleria all the way up to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and passes City Hall.
The Metro system has two bus lines that pass GCC. The 85 starts in Downtown Los Angeles on the corner of Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard and ends at GCC. The 90 and 91 lines start at Main Street and 11th Street. The Metro costs $1.25 to ride.
Besides the advantage of being able to study instead of drive and meeting new people, there are other perks. One student said he likes using the buses because there is a Beeline stop right in front of his house. “The drivers are polite,” said Lerik Keshish. Mink Kang, 20, says, “It’s okay because it saves [me] gas money.”
But there are some drawbacks, Jonathan Lee, 20, says, “[The buses are] not on time usually. I notice they [the bus drivers] take too long for breaks.” Occasionally buses arrive in front of the school as late as twenty minutes past the indicated time.
Rivera said, “Sometimes we can’t go at normal speed and have to slow down to 15 mph.” Jason Aragnsa, 19, said the problem with taking the system was that “it takes too long.” For some students, the problem of taking the bus is not the speed or even the drivers; it’s the other people on the bus. Eleida Srrue, 19, “Some creepy guys come up to you on the bus.”
Passes for the bus system are available from the business office. The Metro system offers a monthly pass for $52, semi-monthly pass for $27, a weekly pass for $14 and an EZ Transit Pass for $58, which services not only the Metro system and the Glendale Beeline but other city transit systems. The Metro passes are effective for the period they are purchased in. For example, a May Metro EZ Pass or Metro Pass can be bought any time of the month but is only good for the month of May.
The Glendale Beeline offers a 31-day pass for $12, a senior 31-day pass for $4.50, and a ten-ride card for $2. The most popular transit pass amongst GCC students, according to H’buk Bayer of the business office, is the $2 Beeline Card. Usually she sells upwards of 200 per month.
For more information, visit www.metro.net.