Suhail Rahimi

Growing up in Virginia, I always took the bus because I had no one at home that was able to take me to and from school. If I had instead grown up in California, I would not have been able to even afford to get to school.
In the Poway Unified School District, a bus pass for the full year is $725. Those who do not wish to pay for the year-long investment can pay $5 dollars per trip.
Not only is taking the bus outrageously expensive, if you violate the bus safety rules three or more times your pass will be suspended, with no refund.
Public transportation like buses was created for low-income people or people who can’t drive to be able to get where they need to go.
PUSD has taken this resource and made it $725 dollars a year.
Students whose families meet the income threshold can apply for a free bus pass.
However, they have to jump through hoops for a pass that only covers a semester before they have to restart the process over.
First, the student’s parent/guardian has to fill out an income disclosure form, including the social security numbers and income of everyone in the household. Then, they have to fill out the bus pass application for each child.
Finally, they have to provide bank statements for all accounts and their rental agreements.
If any of these steps to acquire low-income status are done wrong a family can lose their ability to apply.
The district’s website makes it clear that passes are given on a first come first serve basis. If your bus is already full when you apply, you are simply out of luck.
“The State of California has ruled that transportation for regular education students is not an integral part of the education process,” according to the Poway Unified School District.
Students should not have to worry about how they are going to get to school due to their income.
With district concerns about attendance and how it’s affecting students, providing transportation would not just help students get to school, but would also help the hundreds stuck in traffic every morning get to class on time.
Transportation is an integral part of education and free buses would ensure that all students have a way to get to and from school.