Etgen Scholarship For Mathematical Excellence

As a student in the 1990s, transit enabled me to attend college. I took the bus to ARC. The money I saved by taking transit allowed me to transfer to CSUS. My interest in transit networks led me to pursue mathematics. Taking three buses twice a day allowed me to earn my master’s in mathematics from UC Davis. Over the past several summers I explored connectivity in transit networks. The result is the longest paper that the Journal of Public Transportation has published. I used the insights from that research to investigate options for a better transit network in Sacramento. A plan came together that brings transit service back to American River College. I remember when American River College was a hub for our region and eleven bus routes served a transit center on the campus in the 1980s. Although there are now only two bus routes serving American River College, Regional Transit estimated that in 2019 that a quarter-million trips were made by American River College students each year. The routes serving American River College have already recovered 80% of their pre-pandemic ridership. For nearly forty years, Regional Transit has been content for American River College to be the least served major destination in Sacramento. As a mathematician and transit rider, I know that better transit service is our best hope to battle climate change, increase the quality of living, create community, reduce the costs of roads and collisions, and increase personal savings for education and family. — Ben Etgen