To get from the light rail station on 65th Street and Folsom Boulevard to Sacramento State, a person has to walk about one-third of a mile, navigate through the parking lot and finally arrive at the University Union.

But by 2008, students, faculty and visitors to Sac State will be able to get around campus with more ease. Capital Planning and Resource Development received a $924,000 grant from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments on March 9. The grant will go towards a $24.1 million Tram system, which is a bus rapid transit system.

According to the proposal application for the grant, Capitol Planning and Resource Development said that the Sac State Tram would “serve as a people-mover to link classroom, event and residential uses.”

According to the application, the buses would be a hybrid bus with doors on both sides, with a faster arrival time from the light rail station to the campus than the Regional Transit buses.

There will be five stations on campus: the University Union, the Space and Science Center, the Theatre and residential halls, the academic area, and the Wellness Recreation Center and Hornet Stadium.

According to the application, the rest of the money for the Tram will be funded by student parking and tuition fees. Limited service will be available in 2008 and the project is scheduled to be finished by 2010.

The Sac State Tram is modeled after the TriMet system in Portland, Ore. Mary Fetsch, the communications director of TriMet, said overall TriMet riders give the bus rapid system high marks.

Since the bus rapid transit system started 20 years ago, 70 percent of the riders choose to ride the TriMet rather than drive, mostly because the system is fast and it connects people with places, according to Fetsch.

The city of Sacramento and the university hope to achieve the same results with the Tram. The ultimate goals of the system are to reduce parking and to prevent the building of a Parking Structure IV, according to the application.

The Sac State Tram has been receiving increasing support, including Sacramento City Council members Steve Cohn and Kevin McCarty and Regional Transit. U.S. Congresswoman Doris Matsui is also pleased with the plan.

“It promotes smart growth,” Matsui said.

Jamie Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]