Students can Ride the OC Bus for Free
With the “Youth Ride Free” pass, some teachers advocate for an OC bus stop near SJHHS
The OCTA bus stop located in San Juan Capistrano provides free transportation for students ages 6 to 18 through the “Youth Ride Free” bus pass. Although San Juan Hills students do not have access to a bus stop that takes them to campus, the OC youth pass, found in the guidance office, assists students in their search for free transportation.
October 6, 2022
The “Youth Ride Free” bus pass is offered to all students at SJHHS and allows them to ride OC buses for transportation at no cost. Passes are valid until September 30, 2023.
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has decided to extend the program since the pandemic ended to support the economic recovery of Orange County and help relieve the financial burdens COVID-19 has created for many teens and their families.
Students can receive a form which is distributed within the Guidance building in Carmen Stout’s room, the Bilingual Community Liaison at SJHHS, and require a parental signature and an ID card. The form is available in five languages including English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Mandarin.
Many teachers including Fernanda Villalba, Lorena Perez Sanchez, and Carmen Stout believe the addition of an OCTA public bus stop within the vicinity of SJHHS would greatly benefit students and parents and have been fighting to get approval for a bus stop near campus for years.
“I collected 300 signatures for parents last year for them to open a bus stop here. We submitted it to the principal, the principal submitted it to our board and that was it. What the principal told us was that the city didn’t want to open a bus stop, first because Ortega is a highway. Second, they didn’t want it to be considered a school bus. As a district we should provide transportation for the students,” said Stout.
“We have been fighting for this since before 2007. OCTA said they would do a route but there was no public here. Now we have commercial centers and neighborhoods. The city is growing. There are many reasons why they should be on board,” said Villalba.
Teachers say that nearby schools with a bus stop are able to increase engagement in school activities due to more flexible pick-up/drop-off times.
“There is an OCTA bus stop at the bottom of the hill at Capo Valley High School and many students who live in the same neighborhoods as our students use that bus stop so that they can stay after school and participate in sports, dances, and other extracurricular activities and go home. Our students don’t have that luxury because they are tied to the school bus,” said Villalba.
The public school bus transportation service can be considered quite expensive. Applying for a school bus pass is around 500-600 dollars according to Stout.
“But if students want to apply through services for free, they need to fill out an application and prove that they are considered homeless and qualify being in one of the categories. We have a huge demand for these bus passes that are like a wedding list. We give priority to these kids first but you might be on the waiting list,” said Stout.
Further, some students in need may not be able to receive appropriate transportation to school due to limited spaces.
“Students will have to Uber sometimes to school, they already don’t have money to pay for that but they have to figure out a way to get to school. On top of their grades and everything else they have to worry about. Student’s grades may also rise because there won’t be as many absences due to the lack of transportation,” said Sanchez.
Regardless, the OC youth pass can be picked up in the guidance office and is available for free use by all SJHHS students.
