Campus Bus Service counts record 3 million rides in 2007-08 school year

Despite further plans to shorten routes and cut services, the Campus Bus Service expects more students to ride its buses after reporting record-breaking ridership this year.

More than 3 million rides by students and faculty were counted during the 2008 fiscal year, which is the most passenger trips the service has recorded over the past 40 years, according to a Campus Bus news release.

Campus Bus Services Operations Manager Perry Maull said more than 93 percent of service occurs on weekdays during the fall and spring semesters from Monday to Thursday. This equals about recording 2.6 million rides on the buses. The other 7 percent of bus activity happens during the weekends and the summer, he said.

Services will have to be cut “around the fringes” soon, however, because of the increasing price of fuel and increasing employee benefits, Maull said. Along with the E-bus route changes, the U-bus route will no longer run starting in the fall semester, he said. The bus service also has plans to cut back services on Fridays and weekends.

Senior Krystina Lataillade said she rides the IU campus buses mainly to go to class. Although she said she hasn’t been personally affected, she is concerned for those who will be affected by pending changes to the services.

“Some people rely on buses,” she said. “I hope they take that into account.”

The Campus Bus Service will make few changes to the weekday routes, with plans to make the A and B routes run in accordance to students’ class times, Maull said. Changes will be made to the A route regarding stops near Memorial Stadium. He also said plans have been made to get rid of seats on the lower levels of buses – except those reserved for the elderly, injured and passengers with disabilities – to enable more people to ride the bus.

After speaking with the Student Transportation Advisory Committee, the Campus Bus Service’s focus will concentrate on the A and B routes, making sure students get to class on time, Maull said.

“The student transportation board made priorities clear,” he said. “Our No. 1 priority is to get students back and forth to class.”

Maull said the transportation fee for students will increase by about 2.8 percent, which increases the fee to a little more than $54 per semester instead of $53. Maull said the Campus Bus Service needed to make the adjustments but is determined to continue services.

“Looking at all of it, something had to give,” he said. “We want to get you to class, no matter what happens with fuel.”

Sophomore Fahim Faalzada said he has no personal complaints about the Campus Bus Service, and he is sympathetic to increasing concern about fuel. To solve the Campus Bus Service’s problem, he said there should be an increase on the fee.

“There are consequences to everything going on, but there should be more funds taken from students,” he said. “They need to take further action.”

Maull noted that only about 100,000 passengers use the Campus Bus Service during the summer, and the E-bus transporting passengers to the mall only contributed to 10 percent of that amount of service. He said cutting the route plus the pending changes to Friday and weekend services are necessary so services can focus on their top priority.

“Something changes, or we don’t have the money to buy fuel,” he said. “Then, all the buses will be parked.”