The Office of Transportation and Parking Services has introduced a new off-campus shuttle route that will transport UCSD students, faculty and staff between the UTC/Westfield shopping center and the Mandeville loop on campus. The new Cityshuttle route began service on Sept. 23.
Cityshuttle is designed to alleviate traffic problems and the ever-growing demand for parking on campus by providing transportation to students burdening them with parking fees.
“”Hopefully, students won’t feel that they even need to bring a car,”” said Linda Griffin, manager of rideshare operations.
The shuttle will provide service not only to UTC, but also to La Jolla Village Square, with a stop on Nobel Drive and the shopping centers surrounding off-campus housing.
The price to park on campus has risen dramatically this year, and although the UCSD shuttle system is funded partially by parking revenues such as permits and parking tickets, Griffin hopes Cityshuttle will save students money in parking fees.
Cityshuttle covers much of the same ground as the San Diego Transit bus system, which is widely used by UCSD students. However, any apprehension surrounding the possible removal of the free bus sticker is unfounded, Griffin said.
“”The free bus is so popular and so many people use it that we’ve actually been running over capacity,”” Griffin said. “”Cityshuttle will give us more capacity along those routes.””
The new shuttle service will operate between the hours of 7 a.m. and 12:15 a.m., Monday through Friday, with shuttles arriving at the Mandeville stop on campus every 15 minutes. Shuttle stops will be indicated by blue and white “”UCSD Shuttle”” signs.
Cityshuttle is for the use of UCSD affiliates only, and passengers will be required to present their UCSD photo identification card when boarding the shuttle.
Transportation and Parking Services has also added a stop to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography shuttle route at Mesa Housing. Like Cityshuttle, the SIO shuttle provides off-campus transportation to students. The expansion of the route to include Mesa Housing will allow students living there use of the shuttle so they don’t have to drive to campus.
