Although the Wave won’t be returning to parking Lot 71 even after the bus lane project was created, they are striving to make their rides more efficient and student-friendly, according to school officials.
As a result of the feedback from students last semester, Transportation Program Manager Sloan Campi said he decided to change the bus routes to ensure more effective and safe stops.
“There were several reasons why we changed the route; it mostly had to do with cost-effectiveness and efficiency as well as the fact that lot 71 wasn’t very conducive to students waiting,” said Campi.
“This is why we moved the main hub to the library, so that’s where all shuttles will start and end their journeys. Now we did this because the library has the most activity on campus.”
The bus lane project built in Lot 71 cost about $14,750 and was done for safety purposes due to the Wave previously parking in vehicle travel lanes, but since the rerouting, this has changed.
“During the rerouting process, we discovered that Campus Tour Bus Operations were also dropping and picking up prospective students in another area of a Lot 71 travel lane, which was unsafe,” Campi stated.
“By allowing Campus Tours to operate in this bus lane, the project serves an important purpose for prospective students, and The Wave has its own area.”
This assures that the money is not being wasted and is still being used to ensure the safety of those who are coming to tour the campus.
This project is only temporary, seeing as the campus’s master plan is to install a mobility hub eventually.
While the Wave’s shift in routing is made to be helpful and systematic, students have found that it’s not always the most comfortable or reliable.
“I like the changes that they made; sometimes I do feel like the speed bumps are a little much, especially when you’re coming back from the gym,” said third-year Wes Aman. “I like that we get dropped off and picked up here at the library rather than in parking lot 71. It’s very convenient time-wise.”
The Wave was rerouted so that it would be able to open for more students and be flexible with their schedules.
“Sometimes the buses don’t come consistently,” said fourth-year Mary Black. “I preferred riding the MST buses and would want the Wave to have more of a schedule and more of a way to gain access to it.”
Although there are some difficulties with the system, there are many upsides to these new routes, and more progress with this seeing as it’s more organized.
“We’re working on more readable material and a schedule, and are looking at more ways to get the word out, and those communications are forthcoming,” explained Campi.
Due to MST not coming to East Campus anymore, those who live there and don’t have cars have no form of transportation on the weekends because the Wave also doesn’t operate.
“In addition, we’re looking at every avenue for the weekend service and seeing what we can do to improve. We are constantly evaluating what we can do here to make things better.”