Internal shuttle buses
to be funded by students
THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1978
Page 5
By AVA KING
K A dollar doesn’t buy much any-
Kore, but it will get Texas A&M
1)diversity students a fvdl semester of
Hitra-campus shuttle bus service
next fall.
■ Student Service fees at Texas
A&M University will go up $1 to
help fund the Internal Shuttle Bus
fSystem for the Fall 1978 semester.
The first semester of experimental
Operations for the intra-campus shut
tle was funded entirely by Memorial
iStudent Center (MSC) bookstore
profits.
■The Student Senate has decided to
test the system for another semester
to provide a more thorough evalua
tion of the system’s necessity and ef
ficiency. Of the estimated $30,000
fending, two-thirds will come from
student service fees and one-third
Bm the MSC bookstore profits.
■For the first semester of its opera
tion the internal shuttle bus system
ras allocated $60,000. This alloca-
|on was to cover the cost of operat
ing two routes with three buses on
each route. Running the buses costs
gestimated $100 per day per bus.
“According to
projections made by the
[ College of Agriculture,
100 to 500 students
travel between the main
campus and the west
campus every half hour
during the day,” stated a
1 study obtained from Ur.
Curtis Lard, Associate
I Dean of the College of
i Agriculture.
At the recommendation of E, C.
Ites, Chairman of the Shuttle Bus
Berations Committee, the number
MiKbuses on each route will be re-
|| luced to two for the fall, saving the
~ fDiversity $200 per day. Oates said
, mt the reduction will not affect the
^ptem’s efficiency but will avoid the
■ijhcidents of “two working and four
fitting on the west campus.
The buses are dispatched every 10
piutes and run an 18 minute round
p{). The red route, identified by a
pd card in the bus window, runs a
pbckwise route making stops at
Krueger Hall, Rudder Tower, park-
rig areas 56 and 61, the Entomology
Building, the Veterinarian Hospital,
he College Station Post Office (Uni-
'ersity Drive), Milner Hall and the
Sfchitecture Building.
The green route runs coun
terclockwise making stops at
Krueger Hall, Zachry Engineering
Center Northgate (by the Campus
Theater on University Drive), the
Veterinarian Hospital, the
Entomology Building, parking areas
56 and 61 and Rudder Tower.
The Internal Shuttle Bus System
was implemented for several rea
sons. In 1972, the Texas Transporta
tion Institute prepared a briefing
document on the campus traffic situ
ation at Texas A&M. The studies
show that the increasing number of
cars and pedestrians made the
streets less usable for cars and more
dangerous for pedestrians.
On Oct. 24, 1977, a student gov
ernment subcommittee held a public
hearing to determine the student
body’s interest in an internal shuttle
service. At that hearing, the sub
committee, the Agricultural Coun
cil, the Engineers’ Council, the Sad
dle & Sirloin Club, the Graduate
Student Council, the Collegiate
FFA and the Off-Campus Student
Association all stated that an internal
shuttle service was needed.
The groups gave the following rea
sons why an internal shuttle service
was needed: (1) the distance from the
Veterinarian school makes walking
to the main campus for classes incon
venient; (2) the distance to the west
campus and to peripheral parking
areas makes walking from classes on
the main campus inconvenient; (3)
traffic congestion on the inner cam
pus would be partially alleviated;
and (4) students would be protected
in bad weather.
The subcommittee decided that
the buses should make stops at
peripheral parking areas, the Veter
inarian school, west campus and at
the three existing off-campus shuttle
bus stops. In addition, it was agreed
that a stop would be made at North-
gate to serve the north dorm area and
help reduce traffic congestion at
Northgate. This would also permit
students to shop without using a car.
The groups involved in the deci
sion favored the use of student serv
ice fees over user fees (such as off-
campus shuttle buses) as a means of
funding the intra-campus service. A
report on the hearing said this deci
sion was made because all students
benefited from the easing of traffic
congestion and payment through a
general fee would encourage use of
the buses by all students. It was also
pointed out that no passes would
need to be issued with this method of
funding. The report said the check
ing passes would slow down the bus
system.
“According to projections made by
the College of Agriculture, 100 to
500 students travel between the
main campus and the west campus
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every half hour during the day,’
stated a study obtained from Dr.
Curtis Lard, Associate Dean of the
College of Agriculture.
An eight day long survey made by
Oates to determine the usage of the
The Transportation
Institute’s brief con
cluded with the state
ment, “Street capacity is
not adequate to serve
vehicular needs even
without the conflicts
from pedestrians.” This
means that the Univer
sity has outgrown its
internal street system.
intra-campus system shows averages
of approximately 1,150 riders on
Tuesdays and Thursdays and over
1,400 riders on Wednesdays. No
study was made on Mondays or Fri
days because different class
schedules make for fewer riders
these days than in mid-week, the
survey said.
There is a definite need for an
intra-campus shuttle bus system on
the Texas A&M Campus. The
Transportation Institute’s brief con
cluded with the statement, “Street
capacity is not adequate to serve ve
hicular needs even without conflicts
from pedestrians. This means that
the University has outgrown its
internal street system.
Either new streets need to be built
to accommodate the increased traffic
load or an alternate means of intra
campus transportation must be used.
All parking areas built on the campus
in recent years have been located on
the perimeter of the campus, far
from most classrooms. Installing
more parking lots on the main cam
pus would be unsightly and unneces
sary.
With the intra-campus shuttle sys
tem, the probelm of parking and the
traffic congestion on campus would
be greatly alleviated.
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