A series of changes to transportation services will not take place this July and have been put on hold indefinitely, according to a letter released Wednesday Feb. 13.
A letter from Vice Chancellor of Resource Management and Planning Gary Matthews to A.S. President Meggie Le and UC Student Association President Raquel Morales, dated Feb. 8, said that the administration would seek to establish a committee to discuss alternatives to proposed changes to parking prices and shuttle and bus accessibility.
Last month, UCSD Transportation Services announced an increase in parking costs in on-campus parking structures and for all permits. Additionally, the free Bus Zone sticker system will be discontinued, and students will need to purchase a partially subsidized pass from San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. Furthermore, the UCSD Arriba and Nobel shuttles would be integrated into a more frequent MTS SuperLoop line.
“To insure that we explore all viable options and provide positive review of suggestions contained within your petition and many heard at recent Town Hall meetings, I have asked Robert Holden Director of Auxiliary Business Services to postpone the implementation of any changes until we have had additional time to discuss alternatives,” Matthews wrote in his letter to Le and Morales. “The planned implementation in July will not go forward.”
Le said she received the letter via email on Feb. 11, and the Guardian obtained a copy of the letter Tuesday, Feb. 12.
After TPS announced the new policies last month, a Facebook group uniting students against the impending changes quickly grew to more than 7,000 student members. A similar initiative, Project Sumo, was launched to organize a protest against the changes for sometime later this year.
Le and Morales, who is also an undergraduate student at UCSD, met with Matthews, TPS Assistant Director Todd Berven and Director of Auxiliary Business Services Robert Holden on behalf of UCSD undergraduates to express a list of demands, which included paving over Torrey Pines Gliderport near Eleanor Roosevelt College to create student-only parking spaces and keeping the Bus Zone sticker in effect.
Le said that postponing the implementation of any changes is good for students because it will allow more time for other options to be considered, but she warned that changes might still be on the horizon.
“This is not necessarily the end of fee increases,” Le said. “We’re trying to figure out how to reduce the impact on students, staff and faculty as much as possible.”
TPS has said that it has a multi-million dollar deficit and will run out of reserve funds and collapse in three years. The changes to buses and parking that were scheduled for July would have helped TPS close holes in its budget. A transportation workgroup, made up of students and members of Matthew’s staff, will be formed to address how to make changes that benefit both TPS, which operates without external funding, and students.
Le is a sitting undergraduate representative on the Transportation Policy Committee but says she has not always been able to propose ideas and has instead served more of an advocacy role. She said she hopes to be able to introduce and implement alternative ideas in the new Transportation workgroup.
One such solution is the Triton Transit Pass, which would give all students access to all of MTS bus and light rail services but would require all students to buy into the program. The cost per student per year for the Triton Transit Pass, which would need to approved by way of a student referendum, would likely range from $100 from $140 a year, while the subsidized MTS passes would cost $360 for a September-to-June pass.
To gather student input and spread awareness on the now-tabled changes, Transportation Services held a student town hall meeting on Feb. 12. Holden led the meeting, and a panel of TPS administrators was also present, including Principal Planner Robert Clossin and Berven. Approximately 55 people attended the meeting, composed of staff, faculty, students and A.S. Council. Several campus police officers were also present for crowd control.
Most of the meeting consisted of a PowerPoint presentation by Holden, during which he talked about the proposed transportation changes and the importance of feedback related to these changes. Holden emphasized the need for feedback during these transitions, saying that Transportation Services is looking to engage people and give them all opportunities to voice their concerns.
“There is no final decision, and that’s why I’m here,” Holden said. “I want to really try and find out what people are looking for. We’re not looking for a for-profit situation; we’re looking to make sure we have what we want in the future.”
Holden also stated that TPS is looking for other sustainable alternatives, including research grants for electric buses that can act as battery buffers for the campus and the incorporation of an electronic chip in ID cards to track usage of shuttles to eliminate unnecessary spending or abuse; there was mention of a possible trolley system in the future as well.
Students and faculty also had an opportunity to direct questions toward the panel, with many of their questions concerning the absorption of the Nobel and Arriba shuttles by MTS and TPS’s current efforts to service the large number of students along those routes.
“What we need to guarantee is that we can follow up with MTS to make sure that they are able to absorb the routes,” Holden said. “One of the groups that we met with suggested that we put up cues.”
Another town hall event for faculty and staff members will take place Feb. 21.