When the Red Hawk shuttle service was announced as a solution to the parking issue, many were skeptical. Many thought that the service would be more of a problem instead of a solution. Today, the shuttle service not only serves as an alternative to the parking problem that the Institute is having, but it is also a means of transportation for the students who live in areas around the Houston Field House.
According to the Office of Parking and Transportation, the shuttle serves more than 3,000 passengers everyday. These passengers include not only the students, but also faculty and staff.
“We take the shuttles as more than just a mere means of transportation for the students. They are the ears and eyes for us, the parking and transportation service. Any unwanted incident that occurs along the route that they take, they’ll send an immediate report to us. That includes if there are any changes that they think we should take care of,” said Carol Wagar, parking coordinator.
Since the editorial criticising the shuttle service was published in The Polytechnic, the office has increased the number of shuttles during peak hours to improve its services.
“I am satisfied with the shuttle service, especially how they handle things during the peak hour. However, at other times they are not quite as satisfactory. Most of the shuttles are not punctual at those times. And I really hope that they could have more stops around the campus. The JEC alone is not enough,” complained senior Tracey Clemens.
When asked about the shuttle stops issue, Wagar explained, “The only reason that we can only have one stop at the campus area is due to the construction. The route is very much subject to the construction and we can’t do anything about that.”
However, shuttle service caters to only limited routes, which only include Stackwyck, B, C, D, and E lots, the Rensselaer Union and also CII-lowbay. Suggestions have been made to include the Colonie apartments but due to the funding issues, service expansion can’t be done. The Colonie residents still have to depend on the 86 bus shuttle.
The 86 bus shuttle is an RPI service in cooperation with the Capital District Transportation Authority. The service has been in operation since 1993, and serves about 300 students daily.
“The 86 bus is the only choice that the Colonie residents have even though we pay the highest rate among other residents. The bus service usually is not punctual and sometimes never comes at all, especially in the morning. The scheduling is also something that I think needs to be changed. I sometimes find myself coming to school either late or too early,” said Nur Haron (CSYS’05).
According to the parking office, the scheduling is done in concert with CDTA.
“Increased frequency is an RPI issue, although it would be tough to justify more frequency given ridership levels. It would be difficult to get the service on 30 and 00 departure times [from the Union]. This is a good idea, but the culprit is the fact that the route has three loops. This could be done, but we would likely need to add another bus and to do that is at an increased cost to RPI,” explained Wagar.
She continued, “The issue of buses not coming or being late was a problem for a two to three week period in early February. It was caused by a shortage of bus operators and the impact of the severe winter weather on our equipment. The operator shortage is almost corrected and we have done a series of adjustments to ensure that our fleet is ready to handle the impacts of mother nature.”
