Current bus service weak according to students

December 09, 2008
By Amanda Dahlquist
Editor

While traveling to and from class on campus might be easy, often the same is not said for off-campus traveling.

The Student Government Association hosted a townhall meeting on Nov. 19 to discuss bus service to off-campus locations with any students interested in improving SMTD service.

According to Ashley Rook, SGA President, “a lot of people don't use the bus because they are unfamiliar with it.”

A solution which has been offered is to move the bus stops to locations more convenient for students. The present bus stop locations were decided on before most of the newer housing was constructed. The most popularly suggested place for a new bus stop is in between Lincoln Residence and Founders Halls and the West Side townhouses. According to Rook, with the bus stop suggested, the bus would come from Lincoln Land Community College on Shepard Road, follow by the Housing Commons up to TRAC and University Hall, stop by Founders Hall, continue on into the tear drop of the Public Affairs Center, and move off campus by way of Stevenson Drive. Consequently, the bus would bypass its current stop by family housing.

Night bus service was also mentioned as a need for students living on campus.

“One of our goals is to convince SMTD that a change in routes is needed,” said Cynthia Thompson, Director of Student Life.

Currently, buses do not return to campus after 6 p.m. “A shuttle from Big Lots (off of Dirksen Parkway) now takes students back to UIS,” said Bret Tate, head of the SGA transportation committee.

“Even city bus service at night is temporary now,” said Thompson. “The last one is at about 10:05 p.m.”

With such a schedule, “you could get downtown,” said Tate, “but you can't get back [to campus].”

Additional service is costly, however. According to Tate, an estimate of $30 student fee per semester is possible to add additional bus services, though students with a valid I-Card would then be able to ride for free. The $30 estimate is liable to change, however, as it is based on SMTD's current funding level.

The SGA is looking to collaborate with LLCC, said Rook, as the community college is also having talks about bus service.

Improvements in service are not out of the question, said Tate, as  “it only takes seven people per house to justify having a route.”

Audience members participating in the townhall meeting suggested on having direct stops to various places on Springfield's west side, such as at White Oaks Mall and Barnes & Noble. According to Sruthi, an international student, having the bus drop students off only at the mall is inconvenient for students who wish to go other places in the high traffic area, especially in inclement weather.

The new Wal-mart was also suggested as a crucial stop. According to a student named Sumath, it takes $16 to get to there and back from campus by taxi. “Most international students travel by SMTD,” he said, “and we think bus service would be even better if it went to the new Wal-mart.”
Rook has agreed with this statement. “It's in SMTD's best interest to have a route there,” she said during the meeting.

Cynthia Thompson claimed that service to Wal-mart is “coming across on surveys as a real need.” 

The surveys she referred to were emailed to the student body before Thanksgiving break. By the time of the townhall meeting, over 200 responses had been returned. According to Rook, the goal is to “meet with SMTD at the survey's end and convince them that new routes are needed.”
To Siddharth, an international student who uses bus service regularly, changes cannot come soon enough. “I hope there are no more surveys,” he said. “We need immediate help.”