City buses end nights early due to lack of funding, resources

Junior Kelsey Byers takes out her bus schedule to coordinate her agenda after her class ends at 6:45 p.m. She has 15 minutes to catch the 7 o'clock bus after her class.\n"After 7, the buses don't run until every 30 minutes (as) opposed to the 15 minutes they usually run," Byers said. "I usually have someone pick me up."\nIf Byers doesn't catch the 7 p.m. bus, she has to wait 40 minutes: 30 for the bus in addition to the 10-minute walk to her stop.\n"I used to work for Safety Escort and we would pick up people inconvenienced by the bus schedule all time," Byers said.\nBloomington Transit's city buses have eight numbered routes plus another, C. These buses make their stops and rounds throughout the day, generally starting at about 6:30 a.m.\nFor Routes 1 through 8, the buses end at 9 to 9:30 p.m. or earlier. This is because fewer students ride these routes because they are more downtown-based, said Lewis May, general manager of Bloomington Transit.\n"Most IU students use Routes 6 and C, as these routes serve 75 percent of transportation needs," May said. "Both of these routes run until midnight."\nMay said Bloomington Transit is interested in providing service beyond 9 p.m. for the city buses, but the only obstacle is funding.\n"Public transportation requires a significant investment, and fares only cover a fraction of cost of actual service we provide," May said.\nMay said the reason Routes 1-8 are finished so early in the day compared to the 6 Campus Shuttle and C Route bus is because they don't have enough money.\n"What it really comes down to is our funding resources are finite and we are limited in the amount of funding," he said.\nHowever, this might not be the permanent situation, as Bloomington Transit is currently looking for ways to increase funds, May said.\n"One of the projects for 2007 is to explore possible funding sources to expand services late at night," May said. "It is one of the several things (we are) doing to improve service."\nOther areas Bloomington Transit is looking at improving is frequency on certain routes, May said. Some routes only run every 60 minutes and the goal is to run at least every 30 minutes on all of the routes, he said.\n"I think more times that the buses run would be helpful," sophomore Shawna Jones said. \nIn addition, the 6 Campus Shuttle and C Route bus, which have more student riders because the routes weave through campus, provide Sunday routes. May said he hopes to expand Sunday service to all routes as well.\n"One of our future goals -- assuming funding is available -- is to expand the routes to operate on Sunday," May said. "Late-night service is high on our priorities."\nBloomington Transit is currently identifying new sources of funding that can help cover service beyond 9 p.m. for Routes 1 through 5.\n"It is important to note, though, that Routes 6 and C run until midnight and cut through campus to serve a large number of IU students, and both of these routes provide Sunday service as well," May said.