The votes are in, and they back buses.

Of 1,008 students and staff surveyed last semester by the Student Association, 81 percent are in favor of a shuttle bus to the Aurora and Geneva train stations, and 74 percent support a bus to the Fox Valley Mall on Saturdays.

Phoebe Hodges-Carter, the SA director of transportation, said she will meet with various facets of the SA and NIU’s Fee Review Committee to determine whether students will receive the shuttle services. The project must be cleared by administrators.

“There may be an opportunity for a two-year trial run with no fees for students to pay,” she said.

Because all shuttle bus details must be in place by the end of this month, Hodges-Carter expects to know by the second week of February whether the project will work out.

Excitement has started already.

“The shuttle buses are a great idea,” said Sharita Robinson, a freshman elementary education major. “I would use them to go to the mall.”

The project originally included an idea for a third shuttle to transport NIU students to and from Chicago on the weekends. Hodges-Carter said the SA Mass Transit Board decided a Chicago shuttle would be a duplicated effort because both Aurora and Geneva train stations can bring students to the city.

She added that Aurora and Geneva shuttles would help commuter students.

“The main reason for the shuttle is to alleviate some of the parking congestion on campus,” she said.

The Mass Transit Board already is working toward discounted rates for commuter students to park at the transportation center in Aurora. Hodges-Carter said parking is a “mess” in Geneva, and she doesn’t know how willing its transportation center would be to set aside a few parking spots for NIU students.

Hodges-Carter was amazed that more than 1,000 people stopped to fill out a survey.

“I was surprised, considering that on average only about 1,300 students participate in [Student] Senate elections,” she said. “This project wasn’t even a major campaign. It was just the work of the SA Mass Transit Board.”

The only problem she found with the surveys was a lack of commuter input. Commuters wishing to share their opinions about the shuttle can call Hodges-Carter at 753-9922.

Hodges-Carter, meanwhile, is working on another project involving the purchase of NIU’s own fleet of buses, as was done at Western Illinois University. However, unlike the shuttle project, this would take more time research.

Hodges-Carter said the Mass Transit Board will have new details to report in March.

“If we see that it’s going to be too much of a drain and the liability is too high, we wouldn’t purchase the fleet,” Hodges-Carter said. “We’re looking for more options to expand and improve the transit system with the least possible expense to the students.”