The University Transit Service's bus schedules may include extended weekend service by the semester's end. A pilot program recently announced will extend weekend bus hours until 3:30 a.m. and is expected to begin by the end of March, Parking and Transportation Director Rebecca White said.
The pilot program will run for one month and will test the efficiency of the change before a permanent modification is made.
Council and the University Department of Parking and Transportation have been devising a pilot program that will extend UTS routes by three hourson Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Weekend service currently ends at 12:30 a.m., while during the pilot program service will stop at 3:30 a.m.
Council Parking and Transportation co-chair Clayton Powers said the proposal was made last semester based on student interest.
"If you look on the corner of Rugby Road and University Avenue on any given Thursday, Friday or Saturday night, there are all kinds of people standing around," he said. "We just wanted to give them a way home."
UTS likely will use the two weeks following Spring Break to increase awareness of the schedule change. Following the one-month pilot program, Student Council and UTS will gauge the success of the program, Powers said. He added that student interest in the program makes him optimistic about its success.
White also said that the success of the program would depend upon their initial ridership.
"We're going to get the word out and see who uses it," White said. "Any time we switch a schedule, we're concerned about the education of the passengers." Powers said the extended hours would complement Saferide, the University's existing mode of late-night transportation. He said the size of the Saferide van compared to its high volume of passengers means "it doesn't always meet the demand."
Powers added the extended routes would "allow Saferide to do what it was intended to do, rather than serve as a taxi service."
The Department of Parking and Transportation has been working with Council to determine the logistics of the pilot program. White said there are several difficulties posed by the change. A chief concern of both Council and Parking and Transportation involves the availability of late-night drivers. Most UTS routes currently are serviced by student drivers, White said.
"We don't think it's appropriate for students to be driving at 3 a.m.," White said.
Powers said he also was concerned about the effect of the change on UTS drivers.
"We shouldn't use student drivers on this route," Powers said. "It obviously causes problems if a student is driving at four in the morning and has a test the next day."
The cost of employing additional drivers and buses presents a further obstacle, Powers said. Council has pledged to subsidize the pilot program, but a permanent change would require an increase in the student activities fee paid at the beginning of each semester.
Powers said Council circulated a petition last semester asking students if they would be willing to pay a higher activities fee for extended weekend service hours. The extra fee will cost about $3.
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