Oakland, CA–August 4, 2009. Mills College will offer AC Transit passes to all undergraduate students starting in fall 2009, another in a series of moves to increase campus sustainability.

All undergraduate students who pay fees such as the student activity and comprehensive campus fees are eligible for the one-year AC Transit EasyPass pilot program. The card provides unlimited ridership on all AC Transit East Bay and Transbay routes except the commuter express line that services San Mateo, which is not operated by AC Transit.

With a vote of 258 to 48 votes, 84 percent of students this spring said they wanted transit passes for commuting to Mills and around the Bay area.  In the vote, students also agreed to increase their fees by $96 for 2009–10 to pay for the cost of the passes. The cost is a considerable savings over the regular retail rate for a 31-day Easy Pass for local transit ($80) and a 31-day Transbay pass ($132.50). 

Mills College is the latest to join UC Berkeley and the colleges in the Peralta Community College District in this college discount program. About 900 Mills students are expected to receive a pass.

"This is both green and a great benefit," said Barbara Haber, interim associate vice president for facilities and public safety at Mills College. "Although clearly many students will not use the pass, they voted to tax themselves for this benefit.  It says that Mills students believe in supporting the greater community."

The passes are not transferable. AC Transit will issue the passes using submitted student photos and other information. They will become available and active Aug. 22 and remain effective through September 1, 2010 for students who are registered for the entire school year.

"Mills students are passionate about access to public transportation and a more sustainable lifestyle," said Katie Johnson, a recent Mills College graduate who championed the program last year.

Sustainability is part of one of the three major strategic goals for the College. Among its initiatives and achievements include first place prize for recycling food waste in the national RecycleMania competition in 2008; a county-wide outstanding leadership and achievement award in environmentally sustainable practice in 2007; one LEED platinum building and soon a second LEED gold building; being a signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment; and a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Mills was recently recognized by the Princeton Review as one of the greenest colleges in the nation with a nearly perfect rating of 98 out of a possible 99 for its environmental policies and practices.

Learn more about the College's sustainability efforts.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 950 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College is named one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report, one of the Best 371 Colleges by the Princeton Review, and ranks 75th among America's best colleges by Forbes.com. Visit us at www.mills.edu.

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