Humboldt County needs more transportation options
Humboldt is a beautiful place for someone who is used to an urban area like myself. Being from Los Angeles, seeing the huge redwood forest for the first time was inspiring. I do think it’s a great school to go to for people like me who lived in the city all their life. I just wish it was easier to get here and to get out.
For starters, the only airport that students can utilize is California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport. It is not considered a major airport like San Francisco International Airport or the Oakland International Airport. ACV is pretty small and limits you to United being the only airline options for getting here by plane. More options for airlines would be great for travelers. SFO and OIA may be an option but those airports are five or more hours to get to from Humboldt.
While there are shuttles like the Homeward Bound bus service offered by HSU, good luck getting a spot on time. The fall break bus shuttle sold out in a little over an hour of being sold in November 2018.
A lack of train shuttles is disheartening especially after hearing of the bullet train going from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Greyhound and Amtrak shuttles are also here but people who have used those types of shuttles to get to Humboldt (or get out), know that sitting on a bus for hours with “interesting” people can be an unpleasant experience. I’ve personally had a very negative experience taking the Greyhound.
While I do think that HSU has issues with traveling options, some options do exist for students who want to travel.
As mentioned, the Homeward Bound bus service is a step in the right direction in combating this issue but I do think there should be more buses available instead of the two buses for students to take to San Francisco or Los Angeles. If there were more buses, there could be a potential to drop off students at other locations like Sacramento, Riverside or San Diego. It would open more options for students.
HSU also has a service called Zimride, where students can offer a carpool for students who need to get around or they can post that they need a driver to get somewhere. Nelson Hall also has a board on the second floor hallway for students to post carpool services or post that they need to get somewhere.
There are some solutions to the issue of getting to and from Humboldt but there is still a ton of work that needs to be done to better transportation for homesick students.
