Karl Lau loves UCLA and he wants to help fellow Bruins get to
school.
In the midst of the Metropolitan Transit Authority strike, which
has affected an estimated 500,000 commuters and up to one-fifth of
UCLA students, some students have begun to look for alternative
transportation options.
In response to the transportation crunch, Lau, a UCLA alumnus,
is providing carpooling services to affected students.
Currently looking for employment, Lau is hoping to fill part of
the transportation vacuum by providing rides for the UCLA
community, offsetting his current lack of income and helping to
maintain his vehicle.
A self-described professional driver with a Class B vehicle
license which allows him to drive buses and big rigs as well as
normal cars and trucks, Lau can accommodate up to five students in
his Honda Accord, featuring, what Lau called “comfortable
leather seats.”
But in order to enjoy Lau’s comfortable seats, one must
pass Lau’s screening process.
Lau provides transportation service for UCLA students and
employees, leaving his El Monte home between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and
departing UCLA between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., though he said he’d
do his best to meet his customers’ needs.
After asking interested students or employees for proof of their
affiliation with the university, Lau charges carpoolers $6 per
person, per day.
“It’s cheaper than parking at (UCLA), which is $7 a
day,” he said.
Some students expressed interest in Lau’s services.
Wendy Valladares, a fourth-year sociology and American studies
student, said she would have used Lau’s offer, given closer
geographical proximity.
“I would use his service if I lived farther away since I
don’t have many other (transportation) options,” she
said, adding that other types of transportation services can be
expensive.
Reminiscing about his personal and academic growth while
attending UCLA as an undergraduate, Lau said he feels a profound
sense of belonging whenever he thinks about his alma mater.
“I just love this place,” he said, adding that his
frequent visits to UCLA allow him to enhance his professional
network as well.
Lau, who graduated from UCLA in 1998 with a bachelor’s
degree in electrical engineering, currently attends undergraduate
science lectures to refresh and hone his technical knowledge and
expertise as he prepares for employment interviews and graduate
school.
Deeply interested in helping to clean up the air, Lau said he
feels his services will aid what he says is a declining air quality
situation in Southern California.
Often frustrated by car emissions on the freeway, Lau said he is
revolted by the status quo.
“It makes me sick,” he said, adding that he dreams
of one day owning a hybrid car.
Hybrid vehicles combine a gas engine with an electric motor,
creating a more fuel-efficient vehicle that runs between 48 and 68
miles per gallon of gasoline.
And though it has contributed to the rise of some independent
commuter services like Lau’s, the MTA labor dispute
continues.
Rick Jagger, an MTA spokesman, said no talks were scheduled with
the striking unions Monday and that offers had been made Friday to
the United Transportation Union, which represents bus drivers, and
on Sunday to the Amalgamated Transportation Union, which represents
mechanics.
According to MTA spokesman Jose Ubaldo, MTA chairman Zeb
Yaroslavsky met with other board members and said the MTA is
offering all the unions more lucrative packets than any other
public utility company in the state.
The two involved unions were unavailable for comment on
Monday.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.