IUSA Congress passes bus plan

The IU Student Association Congress approved a plan this month to increase the mandatory transportation fee to $49.50. which will allow students to ride both the campus and Bloomington buses by showing their IDs.\nThe current $30 transportation fee lets students with an ID ride the Stadium Express, midnight shuttle and Bloomington Transit buses. For about $20 more each year, students will also be able to ride the campus buses. Both a student fee review committee and the IU board of trustees must approve the fee before it goes into effect. Congress voted in support of increasing the fee by a margin of 2-1 Jan. 10.\n"I think it's a good thing for the University," said senior Cordelia Boersma. "Every student who goes through IU will probably live somewhere at least once where they'll think it's beneficial to use the buses."\nA trip on any of the "A, B, D and E" campus buses currently costs either .75 cents per ride or $158 for a semester pass. \nThe additional amount that a four-year student would pay under the new plan is $20 each semester, which roughly equals the per-semester cost of today's campus bus pass. \nSenior Tyler Bond said the universal bus plan would improve campus safety and alleviate traffic congestion. Students who study late at the library and don't have money for the bus fare will no longer have to walk home in the dark, said Bond, a former Indiana Daily Student columnist. Students who drive to class might consider using their universal pass to ride the bus next year instead.\nBut some members of Congress said IU transportation gave them few details about how the IU buses would adjust to the inevitable increase in passengers. \nSenior Charles Benson, who lives in Collins Living-Learning Center and represents the dorm in Congress, voted against the plan because he said he doubts the buses will be able to handle a surge in riders. On rainy and snowy days, many campus buses are already at full capacity. \nStudent Body Vice President for Operations Scott Norman said all IU buses will have a locating system installed next year to help them be more on schedule.\nThe University of Illinois recently switched to universal busing, and the number of passengers increased by 300 percent. Norman cautioned that the increase won't be nearly so dramatic here.\nJunior Jordan Johnson said he opposes the current $30 bus plan and would rather see a pay-as-you-go approach.\n"It's absolutely pointless to people who don't use the system to have to pay for it," he said. "You should buy a pass if you want it."\nBenson added that on-campus residents have little need for a bus pass because they live within walking distance of most buildings.\n"Any universal fee should benefit all the students," Benson said. "A lot of folks in the dorms have no reason to use it."\nThe bill's passage completes the IU transportation plan first proposed in 1998. At that time, Congress approved the first-ever transportation fee and called for bringing together the Bloomington Transit and campus busing. Although more than five years have passed, a universal access fare-free system may finally be in place next fall. \nThe student Congress has representatives from off-campus housing, the greek system, each of the academic schools and each student dormitory. Norman said Congressional debate on this issue was the most heated it had been all year. \nStudent Body President Tyson Chastain helped investigate whether the cost of the fee was appropriate and who would be impacted the most. \nBond said he expects students will come to embrace the universal plan.\n"Within a couple of years, students will be overwhelmingly supportive," he said. "Once students realize that on days that it's raining, they can hop on a bus instead of walking home, they will see the benefit."\n-- Contact General Assignments Editor Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.