Transportation challenges confronting community college students are often overlooked when compared to the daunting needs of housing and food insecurity. Yet transportation still ranks high as a basic student need, and especially in California because of inadequate public transportation options, the high cost of car maintenance, gas, parking, the long distances required of students commuting to rural colleges, and traffic in urban and suburban communities. For years the cost of transportation or access to reliable transportation has been identified as a barrier to student retention and success.
Significant factors cited include:
- Access to a reliable car
- Access to good public transportation
- Cost of parking and parking fees
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) estimates that the average full-time community college student spends $1,760 per year on transportation, which exceeds students’ costs at private and four-year institutions. The higher expense is due primarily to the lack of student housing availability and reliance on commuting to college while juggling the demands of work and family responsibilities. In California, transportation costs match or exceed the cost of annual tuition for a full-time student. In a 2016 report on college’s true cost, The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) surveyed over 12,000 California community college students who identified transportation as a significant barrier to attending college full-time.2 The cost of gas or public transportation contributed to the difficult choices students had to make regarding staying in college, taking fewer classes, and working full- or part-time to make ends meet.
Community College League of California (May 2021). Affordability, Food, and Housing: Access Task Force: Addressing Affordable Transportation Needs. Sacramento, California.
Free full-text link to report: https://ccleague.org/sites/default/files/cclc_transportation-report_2021.pdf