Students will be surveyed by the Student Association Mass Transit Board in mid-February to determine their use of the Huskie Bus Line.

The board will survey 1,000 students, 500 off-campus and 500 on-campus. The survey will be conducted through the mail as opposed to a mail/telephone survey, the board voted Monday.

Survey questions will ask students how often they use the bus, is it convenient and accessible, which routes they use and are they satisfied or dissatisfied with the services provided, Vice Chairman of the Board Dave Emerick said.

The survey also will ask if students would use the late-night ride service. The service, if approved, will run 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. when regular buses do not run.

Board member Mary Hermsen said the surveys will be mailed to students Feb. 22 through Feb. 24. Students should have the surveys returned by spring break, she said.

Emerick said, “The results will be analyzed and they will give the board a better feel on how to serve students,” he said. The results should be known sometime after spring break, he said.

Hermsen said the board expects 200 to 300 surveys to be returned, about a 20 to 30 percent return rate.

Students can return the surveys by mail or drop them off in the SA office in the Holmes Student Center, Emerick said.

As an added incentive to return the surveys, the board will select names of two participants and award them with gift certificates for two large pizzas from Sgt. Peppers, Emerick said.

Board Chairman Phil Kessler said the survey came at the request of SA President Jim Fischer. The last bus survey conducted was in 1983, Emerick said.

Plans to conduct a telephone survey in addition to the mail survey fell through at the SA meeting Sunday. Board member and SA senator Mike Cassman requested the senators volunteer some of their free time to conduct the survey. Three senators signed their names to the sheet he passed around, Cassman said.