Thank god for tinted windows. They serve as blinders for my fellow commuters. If it weren’t for the tint, everyone on the road would be able to see me drumming on the steering wheel and singing along to the radio like I’m in concert. My fellow drivers, you should also thank god for the fact that you cannot actually hear me singing behind my closed car doors. Unfortunately, this might soon change. Singing in the car is one of my favorite pastimes so it would take a pretty strong argument to get me to give up my drive to school. However the Valley Transit Authority Eco Pass caught my attention. It might be the very thing that will make myself, and my fellow drivers, give up this in-the-car-self-concert.A new initiative on the upcoming DASB elections ballot proposes a pass to full time students for unlimited use of VTA public transportation services during the quarter which the student is enrolled. A five-dollar fee at the time of registration will procure a pass for the student, allowing the student to use the bus or light rail to get to school or anywhere else that the student needs to go. At first, the thought of being forced to pay yet another fee angered me. Then one day after fueling up my car for about $45, it struck me. No, not the car – but rather the thought that taking the bus to school may not be such a bad idea. Never before had I even considered giving up my dashboard drumming and singing. However, with the cost of gas today, I figured that riding the bus everyday would be cheaper than filling my tank every few days. I did my research. Purchased individually, a bus pass for every month in a quarter would cost $183.75. At only $5 for the entire quarter, the Eco Pass is nominally cheaper. Add to this that pesky little global warming bit that everyone is making a big deal about, and — damn my conscience — I’m sold on the Eco Pass concept. I want to help the environment, and I want to save money. So do many of my fellow students. We need a solution. Something that won’t strip student’s already thin wallets, and something that is easy enough for everyone to participate in.Enter the Eco Pass. It’s cheap, can be useful to all full time students, and will hopefully help reduce the number of cars on the road. This one is an easy sell for me: for $5 dollars a quarter, I get to school, I get to save money, and I get to do my share to curb global warming. At the same time, fellow riders get graced with my lack of musical talent. Not a bad deal. Soon, I may be on the bus to school, belting out chorus lines horribly off tune (my early apologies to all of you bus riders).