6 riders use staff shuttle on first day

The new campus shuttle service for IU faculty and staff saw few riders in its first day of service. Throughout the entire day a total of six passengers sat in the cushioned seats of the tan and red IU bus as it made laps through campus. \nIU Transportation Services decided to provide the service after some faculty and staff expressed concerns about the loss of a 144-space parking lot at the corner of Fess and Atwater avenues, according to a news release. That parking lot is now the construction site for a new 500-space parking garage.\nThe shuttle will continue to run until the garage project is completed, as long as enough people take advantage of the service, said Director of IU Transportation Services Kent McDaniel.\n"If nobody rides the shuttle we won't continue to offer the service," McDaniel said.\nIn the past, Transportation Services offered a shuttle service from Memorial Stadium to the Student Recreational Sports Center, but did not renew the service due to a low number of passengers, McDaniel said.\nOne of the shuttle's six passengers was IU Director of Veteran Support Services Margaret Baechtold. She found out about the service after receiving an e-mail last week and reading an article about it in the newspaper. Baechtold said she enjoyed riding the bus yesterday.\n"It's a fun bus," Baechtold said. "I've had a conversation every way."\nBaechtold parked at the Indiana Avenue Church of Christ parking lot, at the corner of Indiana Avenue and 12th Street this morning where the shuttle picked her up. She got off the shuttle at its Law School stop on Indiana Avenue. Baechtold works in Franklin Hall and asked driver Roger Gardner if a stop could be added at the Sample Gates. Gardner radioed in, and Baechtold's request was granted.\nBaechtold thought the service was a good idea \nbecause the closing of the lot at Fess and Atwater will cause people to park farther north on campus.\n"I hope more people will ride the shuttle so the service will continue," Baechtold said.\nBaechtold said that once the new parking garage is completed, people will shift back to the south side of campus for parking and the service might no longer be needed. In the meantime, the shuttle is a nice contribution to IU Transportation Services and adds more options for parking, Baechtold said.\nThe low number of riders might have been due to people not knowing about the service. Gardner said there was confusion as some would-be riders mistook the shuttle for a B bus.\n"It usually takes a while when they start something new," Gardner said.\nTomorrow will be a better indication of how many people will take advantage of the service, Gardner said.\nNo specific sign designs have been developed to mark shuttle stops, McDaniel said. Stops may change depending on passenger needs.\n"We'll try it and talk to customers," McDaniel said.\nAnyone with questions or comments can send an e-mail to McDaniel at kemcdani@indiana.edu, or talk to a bus driver.