Providence students plan to demonstrate at Providence City Hall today. They’re calling for Mayor Jorge Elorza to provide bus passes for students who live two miles or more from school. Students say they must currently live two and-a-half miles from school, at minimum, in order to qualify for free bus passes.

Roselin Trinidad is a senior at Central High School, and a member of the Providence Student Union, the education advocacy group putting on the protest.

“If you live under the radius, then you’re going to have to find your own way to get there,” said Trinidad. “Some people pay the monthly, other people walk to school which is over 30 minutes, and others just sometimes don’t go to school.”

Trinidad said many students just won’t come to school if they don’t want to walk, and can’t afford the pass.

“If we find a way to get them to school, then all these other issues when it comes to testing, when it comes to language barriers, they’ll be easier to resolve if we first get the kids to school.”

The group contends that students relying on public buses pay about one-thousand dollars for a year’s worth of passes. The Providence Student Union says Mayor Elorza promised to reduce the distance during his campaign.

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