They leave before dawn and begin a commute to UCLA that, in some
cases, could take three hours in each direction.
Johanna Amaya, a third-year mathematics student, is one of over
2,000 students and staff in the UCLA community who commute to
campus using the vanpool program.
During the fall quarter of her freshman year, Amaya drove to
campus from her home in Pasadena.
The drive, she said, often took three hours and caused her a
great amount of stress.
“Driving was so much of a hassle. Also, besides the
stress, (it was) a lot of money on gas and (a) wear and tear on my
car,” she said.
Her parents found out about the vanpool program, which was the
only alternative to driving or living in the dorms. Amaya has used
the program for the last two years.
The program, run by the UCLA transportation office, serves those
who live more than 20 miles from campus, and began during the 1984
Olympics as a program to get employees to campus, one of the
Olympic sites. Last December, the program celebrated its 20-year
“VANniversary,” a term coined by the transportation
office.
From 12 vans in 1984, the program has grown immensely, with
currently 135 to 140 vans being used, running at 93 percent
capacity, said Penny Menton, who helped found the program.
Volunteer drivers pick up six to 14 passengers from a local
pickup location in the morning, and meet on campus in the afternoon
to drive back home.
Some passengers come from as far as the San Gabriel Valley,
Riverside or Frasier Park.
There are many reasons why students choose to live at home and
commute by vanpool.
For Amaya, who is part of the first generation in her family to
attend college, the reason was that her parents did not want her
living in the dorms.
She described her parents as conservative, and said they were
not used to the idea of living in dorms, and that the cost would
have been a financial hardship.
“They just (thought) that I was going to party too much.
They like to keep me home,” she said.
Now, she said, a typical commute is around 45 minutes, or up to
90 minutes on a rainy day. The program is cheaper than driving, and
allows her to sleep, read and talk to other passengers rather than
drive.
“It’s cool when you’re in the carpool lane,
especially by the time we’re on the 134. The freeway is so
packed, and the vanpool just strolls by. It makes you feel
relieved,” she said.
Amaya also began working for transportation services, where she
receives calls from students and staff who are considering coming
to UCLA, or who are tired of driving.
Penny Menton, the associate director of transportation services,
said the vanpool is sometimes a deciding factor for staff and
students considering coming to UCLA.
“It is definitely a recruitment and retention tool for
many departments.
“It’s also a productivity tool,” she said,
referring to the reduced time it takes to commute, and the work
that passengers can get done while on the van.
Amaya said being on campus early forces her to be
productive.
“Since I’m on campus, and I don’t have,
let’s say, a dorm room to go to, I’m forced to study. I
think it’s less of a distraction commuting than living
here,” she said.
Amaya said she does not get to take part in campus life as much
as she would like, but that she has many activities at home that
she continues.
“Having to commute, I think I don’t take advantage
of the campus resources as much as I would (living) here because I
can’t go to the library or to special events if it’s
past the time my van leaves,” she said. “My social life
is outside of school because I commute.”
The 1,500 full-time or daily vanpool riders (of which 15 percent
are students) and the 700 who ride on a part-time basis (95 percent
of whom are students) reflect a demographic that the vanpool serves
when housing nearby is not an option, Menton said.
“UCLA is just a microcosm of how L.A. is. It’s a
commuting area and we have a limited infrastructure in terms of our
freeways, our parking garages and structures,” she said.
She said the vanpool has been one of UCLA’s answers to
campus parking, pollution and housing problems.
The rates, which range from $4 to $7.50 for a one-way ticket,
are based on the cost of gas and maintenance. Parking-citation
revenue is used to cover marketing costs.
Isabell Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for transportation services and
a vanpool driver, said the atmosphere on vans is pleasant.
“Most of the vans ““ they become family,” she
said, adding that she knows of passengers who attend each
other’s weddings and baby showers.
Amaya agreed, and said her driver and fellow passengers are
friendly and feel like part of a community.
“Sometimes we see other vanpools and we wave to each
other. It’s like we’re a group, you know, all the
vanpools. We can all relate to each other,” she said.