E bus route shortened, further changes expected

IU student Max Jacobs used to take the E bus directly from his northwest-campus apartment to College Mall. Now, the E bus only takes him to the Herman B Wells Library, where he then must wait for the C bus to take him to the mall. The entire trip now takes more than half an hour, considerably longer than when the E bus drove directly to College Mall.\n“It’s quicker for me to just walk to the mall now,” he said.\nThe shortening of the E bus route has upset many IU apartment residents, including Evermann Apartments resident Ariadne Lieber. Lieber, together with the Apartment and Family Student Council, has started a petition to the Campus Bus Service, expressing their unhappiness about the “sudden and unexpected” changes to the route. The petition proposes that the E bus run its former route four days a week – Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. \nJacobs is just one resident who has signed the petition and wants the E bus route to return to normal.\n“It affects me a lot during the weekend when the E bus doesn’t go to the mall,” he said.\nThe Campus Bus Service decided to shorten the E bus’s route because of budget difficulties, said Kent McDaniel, executive director of Transportation Services for the Campus Bus Service. He said hourly wage increases, increases in fringe benefits to employees and nearly constant increases in the cost of diesel fuel led the bus service to shorten the route.\n“Our hands are tied,” McDaniel said. “We’re looking for additional sources of revenue, but unfortunately, there are not many available.”\nThe AFSC plans to meet some time in early June to discuss the situation with residents and propose a solution, Lieber said.\nShe said this change will only hurt incoming students who are without cars or other alternative means of transportation. She added that the route negatively affects students and families living on campus.\n“We are people who have our own apartments,” she said. “We have families here who have children to provide for, and they take (their children) when they go shopping.”\nMcDaniel said other campus bus services may also change and more routes could be eliminated in the fall. He said there are plans to eliminate the U bus route and cut off services during the evenings and weekends.\n“Elimination for services to the College Mall was the first step,” he said.\nLieber said the Campus Bus Service’s sudden decision to cut the E bus route was an \ninconsiderate act.\nAFSC secretary Arti Shivram said residents were not given a fair notice to the route change.\n“We did not know, and we are the student body,” she said. “There are a lot of residents who are upset by this.”\nMcDaniel said the Campus Bus Service is sympathetic to residents’ inconveniences and offers students a way to give feedback through the Student Transportation Advisory Committee.\n“It’s not true that we don’t care,” he said. “We care very much.”\nHowever, Lieber said she does not believe the Campus Bus Service is sympathetic enough. She recalled a survey sent to the student body about the transportation services, but the survey was sent out just before summer vacation. \nLieber said sending a survey after the semester ended did not offer enough warning about the route changes. She also said the Student Transportation Advisory Committee is not a widely known group on campus.\n“I thought it was ridiculous because the timing (of the survey) was poor,” she said. “And they just made their decision after the fact without consulting us.”\nAs far as budget difficulties are concerned, Lieber said she thinks there are ways for the Campus Bus Service and IU to cut their spending to accommodate campus residents.\n“There are no priorities put in place,” she said. “They’ll build other buildings and use money irresponsibly. We are already paying the transportation fee, but we are not receiving services.”\nShivram said she looks forward to working with the Campus Bus Service so residents will be able to travel where they need to go.\nMcDaniel suggested students take the C bus route to the mall, which he said has begun running every 20 minutes. He also suggested carpooling.\n“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “Many people are turning to public transportation because of fuel costs, but we may not have much service out on the street.”\nMcDaniel said he doesn’t expect the Campus Bus Service to return to their normal routes anytime soon.\n“We are expected to balance our budget,” he said. “We just don’t have the option of spending money that we don’t have.”