The Cityshuttle service between UCSD and the University Towne Center mall will run along new, shorter routes for most of the day as of this week.
Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., the old circular route — which connected the main campus with a number of nearby apartment complexes and shopping centers — is now split into two shorter lines that serve the Nobel and Arriba neighborhoods, and one line that runs directly between UCSD and UTC.
“”It’s about speed and safety,”” Transportation and Parking Services Director Brian D’Autremont said of the changes. “”With the new routes, what used to take six buses can now be done with two.””
According to D’Autremont, a major problem with the old shuttle route was the large passenger loads at points closer to campus that could not be served by shuttles already full from previous stops.
At the same time, empty shuttles returning from UCSD would be making the trek to the far end of the loop, using up valuable carrying capacity.
The new lines are designed to prevent that specific problem by ensuring that each neighborhood has dedicated, direct service during peak hours.
The Nobel shuttle runs down La Jolla Village Drive as far as Lebon Drive, then loops back to UCSD along Nobel Drive. The Arriba shuttle carries passengers down La Jolla Village Drive until Regents Road, then loops around the Vons shopping center on its way back to UCSD.
In addition to the route reorganization, the number of stops was also reduced, speeding up transit time but, in some cases, requiring students to walk to a handful of designated pick-up points.
The number of shuttles running between UCSD and UTC were also reduced; now, only the UTC express shuttles go the mall, once every 30 minutes.
“”If we’re trying to provide the most cost-effective services we can, we can’t afford to duplicate city services — like [MTS routes] 48 and 49, which run along the old shuttle route between the UCSD campus and the UTC mall,”” D’Autremont said.
At the Mandeville Auditorium shuttle hub, employees from T&PS were on hand for most of the day to help direct students to the proper shuttles.
Lines at the theater, which typically stretch half the length of the building during peak hours, were considerably shorter on its first day of service.
“”I like them,”” John Muir College sophomore Melissa Wong said of the new day routes. “”They’re faster, and more direct. The wait was about the same as usual, but I got to school much faster.””
The Cityshuttle service has seen a meteoric rise in popularity since its creation in 2002, growing from just 400 daily riders in its first year to over 4,200 a day in winter 2006. The number of shuttles has grown along with demand, but in the past few years the service has run into overcrowding problems.
Future plans for improving UCSD transportation include expanding free bus coverage north to Oceanside, and the development of a real-time shuttle tracking system similar to the one in place at USC.
D’Autremont estimated the tracking system would be in place in December.
