SA discontinues shuttle
February 1, 2005
The experimental shuttle bus linking DuSable Hall to several residence halls ended Monday, said Student Association Chief of Staff Aaron Langguth.
The shuttle, which began this semester and operated for two weeks, was designed as an experiment to find whether there would be a demand for it, Langguth said.
Langguth said he could not comment on the experiment’s cost, but said it was “minimal.”
The bus began its route at 7:40 a.m. and ended at 1:40 p.m. on weekdays, shuttle bus driver Aubrey Gray said.
Ridership was comparable to the Huskie Line’s No. 4 campus circle and No. 3 Greek Row buses, Langguth said.
However, despite high demand for the bus, there are currently no plans to use it again because of budget concerns, Langguth said.
Without knowing what was in the SA’s future, Langguth said, the shuttle bus’ expense could be built into next year’s transportation budget.
The Huskie Line currently oversees 15 buses and six routes, general manager Charles Battista said. Six of the buses are on the circle left and right routes.
The number of bus riders always goes up in bad weather, said Cedric Murry, a circle right bus driver.
Murry said he supported the shuttle bus addition because it “alleviated congestion on the circle left and right.”
However, the problem with the shuttle is the lack of awareness, Murry said.
Some students complained about long waits for buses.
The buses “take forever because they trail each other,” sophomore psychology major Maggie Obediah said. She rides the bus every day, but said she had not heard of the shuttle.
Erik Rogalny, a sophomore undecided major, had the same complaint, and said he rode the shuttle because the regular buses take so much time.
He also said said he does not think the university publicized the new bus very well.
“No one used the shuttle because no one thinks to ride it,” Rogalny said.
Langguth said the lack of publicity was part of the experiment with the bus.
“The idea,” Langguth said, “was that if it was used without any publicity at all, there would be a strong demand.”