By: Thomas Davila

If the pandemic had not have happened, classes at all Chaffey College campuses would be in session. Students that live in Chino Hills depended on the Omnitrans Bus Route 365 to get to and from the Chino Chaffey campus or wherever it is they need to be and now, that is no longer an option. As of late last year, Omnitrans eliminated Route 365 because they felt that there was not enough passengers riding that bus route for it to keep operating.

The 365 bus route has now been replaced with OmniLink. On Omnitrans' website they state that OmniLink is a demand-response transportation system providing curb-to-curb service for the general public in Yucaipa and Chino Hills. This new service is similar to dial-a-ride. Passengers must call a day in advance to reserve to be picked up at the nearest bus stop and for a ride back you have to call them before noon on the day of your trip.

Chaffey College students used to ride the bus for free. When in-person classes resume students that live in Chino Hills will have to pay $1.25 for a one-way trip to campus and pay that amount again to go home.

Some students will probably find paying $2.50 a day worth it so they do not have to drive to school and back. Although the Chino campus is not as big as the Rancho campus it is still congested with traffic throughout the semester. This will depend on how many days a week a student goes to school.

Many students that attended the Chino campus when in-person instruction was being held depended on the bus route, whether they drove or not. Students that rely on financial aid and other forms of assistance saw this as a way to save money on gas and help pay for other things like textbooks and snacks.

In addition to eliminating the 365 bus route, Omnitrans has also restructured their route for the Access/ADA bus because they felt there were not enough riders from Chino Hills to continue service in that city. If a passenger wants to ride Access then they will need to use the OmniLink service. That will take the passenger to the Chino Transit Center then Access would pick the passenger up there and take them wherever they need to go.

Omnitrans is currently looking for ways to continue servicing the Chino Hills area once again in lieu or eliminating the 365 bus as well as Access. It is believed that Omnitrans will be partnering with rideshare services like Uber and Lyft to appease the people that live in that city.

The most cost efficient solution for students would be to carpool with a classmate and split the cost of gas once in-person classes resume or if the student lives with their parents they could have their parents drop them off at school. At the same time students want to be more independent and rely less on their parents when they reach a certain age.

Omnitrans Drops 365 and Access Services