Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Local College Parking Fees May Underwrite Free Bus Rides for Students, Staff
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 3 years ago on
November 1, 2022

Share

Students and staff at State Center Community College District campuses have had a break on parking fees for a couple of years, but that may now be coming to an end.

The district is talking about reinstituting campus parking fees starting in the fall of 2023.

According to a consent item on Tuesday afternoon’s State Center board meeting agenda, revenues from parking passes may be used to underwrite free bus rides for Fresno City College and Clovis Community College students, faculty, and staff.

The State Center Board of Trustees will consider approving an agreement with Fresno Area Express to continue free bus rides in a contract that will start in January and continue through June 2024. The college district would pay FAX 75 cents per ride, or no more than $22 per student or staffer per month.

The district has had agreements with FAX since 2017 for free bus rides for students and staff, with a per-ride cost of $1.10.

Began as Pilot Project

The State Center free bus ride program began in 2017-18 as a pilot project to help mitigate the impacts of solar construction in parking lots, with the district paying $1.10 for single rides and no more than $48 monthly per student. At that time regular FAX fares were $1.25 but are now $1.

The program was slated to end in 2020 but was extended after students alerted trustees, who had been unaware of the planned cancelation. At the time the district agreed to use parking revenues to cover the program’s cost but said a long-term solution was needed and could include additional student fees, a grant from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and support from the college district’s foundation.

Based on ridership since the program began, the district estimates the total expenditures will be $40,000-$50,000 for the spring 2023 semester and $175,000 to $200,000 for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Fresno City College’s new five-story parking garage significantly expanded the number of parking stalls on the crowded central Fresno campus.

Pay to Park

Parking permit fees, which are subject to change without notice, are listed on the district website as $30 for the fall semester, $60 for the fall and spring semesters, $20 for the summer semester, and $80 for an annual pass.

State Center officials did not immediately respond to a request for information about whether parking fees from all four colleges — Fresno City, Clovis, Reedley, and Madera — would underwrite the bus fares for Fresno City and Clovis Community students and staff.

Later Tuesday, the district confirmed parking fees will be charged at all four campuses, at the same amounts as previously.

Draft FAX Contract

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Can This 14-Year-Old Football Star Become a High School Millionaire?

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Federal Raids Threaten California Businesses as Immigrant Workers Vanish From Job Sites

1 hour ago

Water Scarcity Is Forcing Tough Decisions. This Legislation Can Keep Our Family Farm Afloat

2 hours ago

California Is a Donor State, but Can It Stop Sending Its Tax Dollars to DC?

Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back at President Trump’s threat to cut federal funding to California by highlighting the state’s signif...

9 minutes ago

9 minutes ago

California Is a Donor State, but Can It Stop Sending Its Tax Dollars to DC?

Military Vehicles on LA Freeway 101
21 minutes ago

Marines Prepare to Deploy in LA as More Protests Planned Across US

1 hour ago

Harvey Weinstein Convicted of Sex Crime Amid Contentious Jury Deliberations

1 hour ago

Federal Raids Threaten California Businesses as Immigrant Workers Vanish From Job Sites

2 hours ago

Water Scarcity Is Forcing Tough Decisions. This Legislation Can Keep Our Family Farm Afloat

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, center, applauds for those affected by the Los Angeles area wildfires as she gives the State of the State address in the House of Representatives at the state Capitol with Speaker of the House Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park, left, and Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, flanking the governor on Jan. 13, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill to Ban Teaching Antisemitism in Arizona’s Public Schools

Brian Wilson obit
2 hours ago

Brian Wilson, Summer’s Poet Laureate of the Beach Boys, Dies at 82

2 hours ago

Russian Attacks Kill 3 and Wound 64 as Drones Hit Kharkiv and Other Parts of Ukraine

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend