Irvine : UCI Students, Faculty Getting Free Bus Rides
UC Irvine students and faculty members will be getting a free ride as a result of a one-year agreement with the Orange County Transit District in which the university will subsidize fares on three routes serving the campus.
Under the agreement, which went into effect last week, riders can travel free to and from UCI on OCTD Route 65, which travels between Santa Ana and Balboa; Route 74, which serves Irvine and Huntington Beach, and Route 76/76A, which also serves Huntington Beach and Irvine. The university will reimburse the transit district for each UCI rider.
John Duve, UCI director of parking and transportation services, said the university will pay the district 59 cents per ride up to $125,000 during the next 12 months. If the number of fares during the year exceeds the agreed-to maximum, OCTD will make up the difference, he said.
UCI, Duve said, wants to encourage staff and students to leave their cars home, something that the university hopes will permit it to forestall construction of new parking lots.
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