A surge of rumors recently circulating on Facebook.com about the possible elimination of the Nobel and Arriba Cityshuttle services was disproved at a campus forum last week.
UCSD Parking and Transportation Services recently announced that the Arriba and Nobel Cityshuttle services will not be discontinued, dispelling widespread rumors to the contrary.
“”No way are we cutting out Arriba and Nobel services,”” Director of Parking and Transportation Services Brian D’Autremont said. “”They’re the most popular and it’s never even been considered.””
Students had planned a rally to protest the discontinuation of the transportation service. Many complained about the Nobel and Arriba shuttles, along with certain Metropolitan Transit System buses, being inconveniently overcrowded. Lines of students waiting at bus stops extend beyond corners as shuttles, already filled with students, pass by the crowds.
“”I feel like cattle every time I get on the shuttle,”” John Muir College senior Adam Grant said. “”Within five minutes of getting to the bus stop, the line is around the corner. And they just pack everyone on the bus.””
PandTS officials are currently discussing ways to improve the program’s efficiency, D’Autremont said.
He confirmed that the next change to the service will be a decrease in the frequency of buses in the Campus Loop shuttle.
“”We’re duplicating services with the MTS and Cityshuttle,”” D’Autremont said. “”And our hope is to shift buses to places they aren’t going. MTS buses only serve major roads.””
Another goal of the department is maintaing the quality of transportation while keeping costs reasonable, he added. Cityshuttle buses cost about $1.4 million a year, and are funded by citation and parking fees.
New technologies will also be added to help improve shuttle service efficiency.
“”We will have screens on the buses so you can watch the route you’re taking and passenger counters so we can monitor the numbers,”” D’Autremont said, adding that the changes will cost about $100,000 – the equivalent of one bus.
“”If the number of buses are stacking up, it’s not efficient,”” he said. “”Instead, we can spend the money to improve the buses we have.””
Some improvements are already evident within the system, including a 40-percent increase in students riding the MTS buses.
Still, many students said that they prefer the Cityshuttle because it reaches campus faster. TandPS timed the Cityshuttle and MTS buses from Nobel to UCSD, finding that the Cityshuttle reached UCSD in 14 minutes. It took the MTS bus 20 minutes to arrive.
The Transportation Policy Committee, which consists of three staff members, three faculty members and three students, dictates all major policy decisions after taking student input into consideration.
However, “”they are not involved in decisions to refine or refocus individualized services,”” Associate Director of Transportation and Parking Services Robert Defendini said.
“”MTS has great expansion plans over the next few years,”” he said. “”We are working closely with MTS to expand the Free Bus Zone, especially in those areas not previously covered by MTS or UCSD shuttles.””
Under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plans, funding for public transportation will severely decrease next year. However, D’Autremont said the university would not be daunted by the setback.
If the funding decrease occurs, TandPS will respond by “”putting more buses out there and hiring more drivers,”” he said. “”We’re committed.””
