ASPC is offering free rides to the airport before winter break, Ariana Makar PO ’24, the student government’s director of operations, announced in an email to Pomona College students Monday.
The rideshare program will service rides to both Ontario International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) via van and bus.
To gauge student interest in the program and plan out dates and times, Makar’s email included a link to a Google form where students could state what time they need a ride to the airport.
ASPC is recruiting student drivers to drive other students to and from Ontario and LAX. Drivers will be paid $20 an hour to drive vehicles provided by the school and will have flexible schedules, Makar said.
Students must sign up to drive by Dec. 9 by 11:59 p.m., and, upon doing so, will be notified of ride confirmations on a rolling basis. Students must register as college-approved drivers, Vice President of Finance Adeena Liang PO ’23 added in a Thursday follow-up, which may cover incidents under the college’s insurance policy.
ASPC has experimented with airport shuttle services on and off since at least 2017, when 15 students took advantage of a pilot program for first-year and transfer students.
Sridha Chadalavada PO ’24 is “happy and relieved” that ASPC’s rideshare program will resume.
“I was originally going to have to take an Uber to the LAX airport, which would have cost me almost a hundred dollars. That’s practically the price of a plane ticket,” Chadalavada said. “This rideshare program makes it super easy and convenient for me to travel.”
ASPC has also relaunched its 5C Rideshare site, where students can connect with each other and split the cost of a ride to the airport. The page now includes the option to find rides to or from Hollywood Burbank Airport, in addition to Ontario and LAX.