Bus plan not needed, grad students say

The universal bus plan might soon hit a pothole. \nGraduate students in several departments said they are unlikely to endorse the plan when it comes up for a vote today at a meeting of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization.\nThe plan calls for extending unlimited bus access from the Bloomington Transit, Stadium Express and Midnight Shuttle to all campus buses and increasing the transportation fee to $50. \nBut graduate students rarely use the campus buses. The average graduate student works in the same building all day and has no need to ride the IU buses around campus, said graduate student Eric Zeemering, GPSO moderator.\n"Graduate students are saying it might not benefit me fully," he said. "Their primary concern with transportation is to and from campus rather than within campus." \nOther graduate students work as research and teaching assistants and can obtain A or C passes to park on campus. \nGPSO coordinator and doctoral student Kimberly James said she has heard from entire departments that oppose the fee increase.\n"Most commentary has not been supportive," James said.\nThe GPSO advises the dean of the graduate school. Each department on campus elects a representative to serve on GPSO committees. \nLast month, the IU Student Association Congress approved the same plan by a margin of 2-1. IUSA has elected representatives from both undergraduate and graduate departments. \nThe GPSO vote comes one day before the Committee for Fee Review meets to analyze the proposal in greater detail. If the fee passes the committee's scrutiny, it goes before the IU board of trustees for final approval. \nIUSA President Tyson Chastain said he understands why graduate students would oppose the plan. But while undergraduates will benefit most from the fee increase, graduate students have been well served by earlier changes, he said.\nThe board of trustees approved the concept of a universal transportation plan in 2000, but it has been a gradual process of implementation. The first phase of the plan gave students unlimited access to Bloomington Transit by showing their student IDs. Other phases introduced the Midnight Shuttle and Stadium Express.\n"This might be a time to say since we've been benefitting from the Bloomington Transit, we might commit to the rest of the plan," he said.\nBut Zeemering said representatives are also concerned that IU has no plans to add new buses next year if the fee is passed. \n"We need to ask some critical questions as the fee is being discussed," Zeemering said.\nCurrently, riders of the campus buses pay 75 cents per ride or $158 for a year-long pass.\nQuestions remain whether the trustees would approve the fee even if it came up for a vote. Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to ask for a tuition and fee cap of about 4 percent, Chastain said, which might not leave room for a bus plan. \nChancellor Ken Gros Louis said the athletic fee might increase from last year, which would make a bus fee even more difficult to pass. \n"It's critical for the trustees to listen to the dialogue on fees on campus," Zeemering said. "They need to know where our priorities lie in services from the University." \n-- Contact General Assignments Editor Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.