Why Students Are Late To Class

Jeremiah Purvis | Writer

Janell Pina, an LCCC Student.

It’s 6:30 a.m., your class begins at 9:35. If you take the 8:30 bus you’ll be ten minutes late. The bus you take daily is always twenty minutes late, so you take the 6:30 bus and live to sleep another day. This is the restless reality of college students taking public transportation. At a time in which community colleges are focused on being accessible, it’s a surprise some haven’t done more for students living in inner city areas.

According to a College Board report, community college students will spend an average of $1,840 on transportation, more than their counterparts at public and private four-year colleges.

“The bus completely stresses me out,” said Janell Pina, a new LCCC student. “They never seem to operate according to schedule; I have to wake up three or even four hours prior to make sure I get to class on time.”

This issue doesn’t limit itself to LCCC. In an article published by The Pew Charitable Trust, Monica Momoh, a freshman at a community college in Baltimore County, tells a tale of struggling without transportation and the bus forcing her to walk forty minutes from her house to get to class every day.

“The area I live in is kind of remote,” said Momoh, a psychology major. “The lack of a car did discourage me from going to school.”

What can community college administrators do?

“I think having a source of transportation dedicated to students could make us more comfortable,” said Janell Pina.

Another option could be providing bus fare solutions or having public transportation fare covered in tuition. According to an article in “Philadelphia Citizen”, college IDs double as unlimited fare cards in areas like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Other notable community colleges have already addressed the transportation barrier and are making waves to solve the issue.