Transportation a problem for students

I recently began the arduous task of getting my son from Clarkson University back to Boston for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Clarkson is a top-notch university, and we selected the institution for its strength in my son's engineering major. We could have stayed around Boston, but Clarkson was a better fit.

It seems to me, after about 15 phone calls and finally receiving some assistance from the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce, that Clarkson and SUNY Potsdam could do something to ensure my kid and others have access to transportation home for breaks.

I learned that there is Cape Air that flies directly into Logan, but how is my kid (who doesn't have a car) to get to Saranac Lake to catch this plane? I learned about the bus, but my son would have to travel to Syracuse and hope to catch a bus to Albany to catch another bus to Boston.

I also learned that Cape Air flies from Massena and Ogdensburg, but getting to the airport is essentially impossible with the limited public transportation.

According to the chamber, there are roughly 10,000 students in your community at one time, plus faculty and staff. It seems to me that the leadership within the community could do more to work with private enterprise to offer convenient and inexpensive transportation to airports, bus depots, etc.

I know that I am not the only parent frustrated by the lack of options available to my son. Clarkson is known for its enterprise. Can't you work with Cape Air or Greyhound to facilitate this transportation? Until I talked to the chamber, I didn't even know that flying was an option.

I appreciate the chamber for their assistance in providing me with links to the bus, airports and to ride-sharing boards. The woman was much more helpful than anyone I had encountered at Clarkson and offered solutions where I only saw problems.

Thom Burton

Boston