By Kathryn Kelman/editor-in-chief

TCC is conducting a survey to better understand the transportation needs of students.

On Sept. 29, the link to the survey was distributed via email blast, social media, Blackboard and text, said operational infrastructure director Walter Williams.

Williams and real estate management services manager Michelle Davis-Mohammed work for the real estate and facilities department during the day, but they “moonlight” working on transportation issues for the district, Williams said.

“Transportation is a hot button for the chancellor, and there are many efforts on many fronts to improve student access to transportation,” he said.

The survey is designed to establish data about the transportation needs of students, Williams said.

Three TCC campuses are now on The T’s bus route. NW was added this spring.

NW student Peter Chanthara doesn’t use the bus to commute to campus but instead relies on his parents, he said.

“I don’t see many buses here, but improving public transportation for students would be more convenient for us that need it to get to our classes,” Chanthara said.

TCC is looking to do just that, Williams said. The first step is getting the data from the survey.

“This survey will help TCCD to determine the needs for public transportation to and between campuses,” Davis-Mohammed said, adding that the survey takes less than three minutes to complete.

The survey asks 16 questions like, “What campus/center do you spend most of your time on?” and “How do you currently get to and from TCC campuses/centers?”

“We plan for the survey to run for two weeks,” Williams said.

Students that respond to the survey will be eligible to win a prize, but only three winners will be chosen, he said.

“Those who respond to the survey will be eligible to win an eight-inch ASUS Android tablet, a set of Jabra wireless headphones and a $50 Starbucks gift card,” Williams said.