Students at North Shore Community College have new and expanded transportation options this fall.
A pilot program with Uber, which began last fall, proved so popular that it is being continued and expanded into a new Uber business partnership that will allow NSCC to provide more financial support to needy commuting students. NSCC-Uber Ride helps meet the transportation needs of students who have difficulty getting to the college’s suburban campuses in Danvers and now Middleton. Currently registered NSCC students can ride to and from the Danvers or Middleton Campuses from the North Shore Mall or Beverly Depot with a $10 discount on rides.
To be eligible, users must be a currently registered NSCC student over the age of 18. They download the free app to their iPhone, Android or Windows smartphone, create an Uber account and sign up for NSCC-Uber Ride to receive the discount. Hours of operation are: Monday – Thursday 7 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Questions about NSCC-Uber ride should be directed to NSCC’s Office of Student Engagement, Lynn Campus LW-167 or Danvers Campus DB-132, engagement@northshore.edu or 781-593-6722 x5536.
Also, the college financial services office is committed to working with any student who finds an insurmountable commuting problem to a required course on a different campus. “For us it is all about access,” said NSCC President Patricia A. Gentile. “We know that if people don’t have transportation, they will not attend college. Getting to our suburban campus in Danvers does prove a problem for some folks as there is no public transportation available to get here. We want to make it as easy as possible for our students to travel between campuses.”
In addition NSCC has partnered with the city of Lynn to regionally activate the MBTA Youth Pass, a heavily discounted Charlie Card for low-income youth not in high school and between the ages of 15-25 who are in a work, training or college program. The program is now available to eligible young people who are NSCC students or who reside on the North Shore.
Those interested can register at the Student Success Center in NSCC’s Lynn campus at 300 Broad Street. For more information on the Youth Pass program see: MBTA Youth Pass.
The college also continues to work with state officials to pursue the possibility of extending local bus routes to include a stop at the Danvers campus.