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With the Gavilan College campus in Hollister nearing a year in operation, students and staff still lack a dedicated public transportation route or stop at the new Hollister campus.
Both groups advocated for just that before the Local Transportation Authority (LTA) board on Nov. 11, arguing that it would benefit not only them, but the entire community.
In response, board members said the challenge is securing adequate funding and asked the college to partner in those efforts.
Four students shared their experience at the board meeting regarding the challenges they face traveling to the campus, from ridesharing costs to the lack of sidewalks to walk or bike to the college safely.
Providentia Eweama, a high school student who takes classes at Gavilan, said while she can drive, she does not own a car and her family cannot take her to school because of their work schedule.
“I rely on public transportation, biking and walking,” she said. “Because of limited stops and lack of safe sidewalks, it’s not always possible to get to class on time or safely, and it results in many students missing opportunities for academic, career and personal growth.”
Gavilan College Director of Basic Needs and Success Annette Gutierrez said those students are not alone, noting that this fall her program received 67 requests for Uber vouchers, of which 33 students who applied were accepted. She said students have been provided 801 rides since August.
“While I’m grateful to be able to offer this service to students, this is not a sustainable solution,” Gutierrez said. “These numbers represent real students, many of whom are low income, parents, first generation or justice involved, who depend on reliable transportation to stay enrolled, attend class and make academic progress.”
Gavilan President Pedro Avila said the college has been collaborating with the transportation agency for more than three years to implement a route and a stop by the time the Hollister campus opened. Despite delays, Avila said he was appreciative of the “transparency and commitment to making this happen.”
“We do recognize planning a new transit route is complex and that issues come up and that there are reasons why it was delayed,” he said.
Avila said enrollment in Hollister has increased since classes relocated to the new campus in January. He said enrollment has exceeded 700 students each of the last two semesters.
Site Director Judy Rodriguez previously told BenitoLink enrollment at the former site was 473 students in the 2024 spring semester.
Council of San Benito County Governments (COG) Executive Director Binu Abraham said it was “just a funding thing.”
Abraham said transportation agencies nationally are struggling following the COVID pandemic because ridership numbers dropped and there was a driver shortage while labor costs increased. She said the cost of a route to the campus depends on the option that is adopted, but did not provide additional details.
Abraham told BenitoLink the cost increase depends on the number of stops and additional distance the drivers need to cover. She said the challenge is that Gavilan’s Hollister campus is beyond the LTA’s service area.
She said the challenge with funding is that though grants may be available, they are not a reliable source long-term.
“We don’t want to provide the service for three months and then have to stop,” she said.
According to the staff report, LTA came up with preliminary transit routes that Gavilan supports, but no additional details are included in the report or were discussed at the meeting.
Abraham told BenitoLink the lack of specifics was deliberate because preliminary plans are not released until there is an official agreement between the agencies.
The agency currently offers three options for the community—a fixed route within Hollister’s city limits known as County Express Tripper which primarily serves the schools; a bus to Gavilan and the train station in Gilroy; and a dial-a-ride service where riders schedule a pick-up and drop-off.
COG Director Kollin Kosmicki, who is also on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, said there should be public transit to the Hollister campus but that it contributes to the costs of having public transit to their campus.
“There should be a partnership, I don’t think this is something that is necessarily just on the shoulders of the COG,” he said.
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