California youth launch California High School Transit Alliance to take on transit issues
A youth-led movement has been launched across the state of California to work towards creating stronger public transit systems in communities. The California High School Transit Alliance (CalHSTA) consists of five clubs across four diverse California communities— San Diego, San Mateo, Belmont and Alhambra— representing schools and districts with over 128,000 total students.
“Across the state, more and more students are discovering how awesome taking transit can be. According to [Metropolitan Transit System] in my hometown of San Diego, youth transit use has jumped by 22 percent in just the last year,” said CalHSTA board member and presiding officer of CaverMetro at San Diego High School Samuel Sharp. “Public transit is the lifeblood of our cities and neighborhoods and hundreds of my fellow Cavers and I use it to get to and from school every day. As a proud bike and transit commuter, I can’t wait to work alongside our awesome club members and our new alliance to help make transit across this great state even better.”
“Our state has made so much progress in building resilient and efficient transit systems, but I’ve also seen many people in my school and community get left behind with infrequent and slow transit options that don’t encourage choice ridership,” said David Rabinovich, CalHSTA board member and presiding officer of Transit at SMHS Club at San Mateo High School. “My school is just off of the train tracks, but -especially since COVID it’s been hard to help transit agencies recover and to drive new growth in student ridership. I’m excited to work with the alliance to help students try out transit and build systems that leave no one behind.”
CalHSTA will help bring public transit issues directly to students, with a focus on supportive in-school and out-of-school meetings and activities at individual campuses. Statewide calls-to-action and events will help bring clubs together and unify around the issues that matter most to student transit riders: having convenient, equitable transit options that make getting to school, home and around town easy for everyone.
“As a bus commuter to my suburban high school, I’ve seen a great willingness to ride public transit alongside a great opportunity to improve transit service and offer even more mobility options for students, decreasing congestion and improving quality of life. Together with other clubs across the state, I believe we can make a real difference and advocate for a better transit future,” said Ben Mangiafico, presiding officer of Carlmont Transportation Club at Carlmont High School.
CalHSTA says it hopes to add more schools and communities in the future and create an alliance that represents all California students.
