Chaffey's Bus Problems
OmniTrans bus arriving at Chaffey College. Photos by Giselle Martinez
Chaffey College students have run into problems with the OmniTrans buses system. For a couple of years, some Chaffey I.D. cards have been rejected when used for OmniTrans buses. Chaffey College offers all enrolled students rides on OmniTrans buses for free with a fee that is part of their tuition.
How many units are taken in the semester determines how a student will be charged. It will take up to 48 hours for a Chaffey I.D card to be activated. If a student has not paid their tuition fees, the I.D. card will read "Bad Listed."
Some OmniTrans bus drivers may let students ride the buses even when their I.D. is rejected by their scanners.
A student getting on the bus at Chaffey College.
Janet Thornton, a bus driver for OmniTrans, explained what she instructs students to do if the I.D. card is rejected.
“Go get it checked out in the office, and they offer free ones on Thursdays. I will let them on for free,” said Thornton.
David Valencia and Keith Dawson are other bus drivers who have had students with I.D. cards get rejected. They both instruct the same things as Thornton.
One student who had problems with OmniTrans buses is Mauricio Sanchez.
“I was rejected a week ago and so were most of the kids that got on behind me, but the bus driver just let us on,” said Sanchez.
Mauricio Sanchez is not the only one who has had some trouble with his I.D. card and OmniTrans buses. Mason Manik, Destiny Diaz and Alfredo Cendejas are other students who have had their I.D. cards rejected on the OmniTrans scanners.
Mason Manik states that he was "Bad Listed" during the 2019 summer term but the bus drivers still let him on. In the 2019 fall term, the problem was fixed.
To get the Chaffey I.D. card examined, a student has to go to the cashier office. OmniTrans bus drivers have no control over fixing the I.D card. Thornton once had an experience where a student pulled out their transcript to show her. Thornton could not do anything other than tell her to go to the office to get it checked out.
The process of getting an I.D. examined is a simple process according to a worker at the cashier office who wishes to remain anonymous. The first step is to check the student's fees and verify they are payed. If the fees are completely payed, then the cashier worker will scan the I.D. to check if it is demagnetized. If that is the case, then the worker will get it magnetized. Sometimes the cashier workers will give a student a new I.D. card.
According to bus drivers and Chaffey students, the problems have decreased since they first started a couple of years ago. In case a student is still having issues, go to the cashier office and get it examined.