The student senate raised concerns with Transportation and Parking earlier this month to discuss shuttle service challenges and improvements moving forward.
Senate President Meilin Q. Reyes, Vice President Bitanya Hailu, External Affairs Chair Arpan Singh and Campus Affairs Chair Cameron Hudson met with TAP on Oct. 8 to address complaints about shuttle timeliness, mechanical issues and driver professionalism, according to Kairy Gonzalez, the chair of cultural affairs.
Concerns from senate members include the frequency and consistency of shuttle arrivals, unprofessional conduct by drivers particularly regarding walkie talkie usage and appropriate conversations between drivers in front of student passengers, according to Gonzalez.
“I am a bit stressed about it because it’s already difficult obviously to go to Plains, park in Plains,” Gonzalez said. “But then we’re using the shuttle, which they advocate so much for us to do, but then for the shuttles to not be consistent – it’s a struggle.”
Students said they had mostly positive feedback about the shuttle service so far this semester.
“I love [the Hill Climber], I think it’s great,” Katelyn Palmer, a fourth-year student, said. “The fact that there’s two is really helpful that I don’t have to wait a long time for it to come around.”
Palmer noted some shuttle lines are more timely than others.
“When I used the Rhodyville one [it] usually takes a lot longer to come around because it goes all through the [Memorial Union],” Palmer said. “For the days I would have to go to a class in the union, I would sometimes be waiting in the parking lot for 10-15 minutes.”
Third-year students Alyssa Garbarino and April DiBrita said that their experience with the shuttle service has been good this semester. Garbarino said the shuttles are sometimes packed but that’s to be expected with a large student body.
TAP manager Joe Paradise said he spoke with the general manager of the shuttle service after meeting with the student senate to discuss the complaints.
The drivers will soon be transitioning to communication through earpieces in place of walkie talkie speakers, but general communication between drivers is necessary for safety and traffic management, according to Paradise.
“It can get loud but it’s for safety reasons,” Paradise said. “Our dispatch has one of their networks so they can talk if there’s ever an emergency situation on campus, they can communicate with our bus drivers.”
Paradise cited general traffic as a major factor in arrival time inconsistencies.
“They have to compete with traffic also,” Paradise said. “At peak times, that’s why we give a window of 8-12 minutes on our Hill Climber route, 8-12 minutes on frequencies. We can’t say 8 minutes and be right on that.”
TAP is working on a draft of a request for proposal for the next shuttle contract, according to Paradise. The new contract will be awarded by early next year and will be implemented after the contract recipient prepares the shuttles for the following year.
Some new features in the proposal include larger shuttles with two doors for entering and exiting, real-time message boards to communicate with students and an automatic live passenger count system, according to Paradise.
Students are able to submit comments, complaints and suggestions directly through the feedback form on the TAP website.
