Ending bus stop blues

With parking being a nightmare for anybody arriving on campus in the busy hours of the morning, students have recently been seeking alternative methods of getting to school. One of the most popular has been riding the bus, which is great for the parking situation, except that many students feel that the service could be improved.

I drove by the bus stop this morning to see the bus pulling away from the curb while a group of students stood in disbelief watching their ride to school pull away. I could feel their frustration because even though they woke up on time, they would be late to class because there wasn’t enough room on the bus.

Earlier this year I received an e-mail from a concerned student who had been left behind by the “last bus home” in the evening. He wanted answers about why the bus system wasn’t meeting the needs of Cal Poly students.

Well I have some good news. There just maybe a solution on the horizon.

Today from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. the San Luis Obispo Mass Transit Committee (MTC) will meet to consider a proposal to improve service between Cal Poly and downtown. If you’ve got a story to tell about why we need better bus service, this is the place to be!

WHO: San Luis Obispo Mass Transit Committee

WHAT: Considering improving bus service between Cal Poly and downtown

WHEN: 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Hall (Palm/Osos) in room 9 (Community Development Conference Room)

WHY: Show your support for better bus service and let our

community leadership know how important this service is to thousands of students!

One of our faculty members, Gregg Doyle from the city regional planning department is working hard on the SLO MTC to optimize the transit service within the existing resources.

He’s proposing a plan that would increase overall ridership while decreasing the amount of time between busses heading to campus, and other locations, specifically on the Mill/Grand corridor. There’s a slight trade-off that would add a small amount of time between some busses traveling from campus to downtown, but overall it’s a good deal for students because it means that an increased number of busses will be going to campus more frequently and it won’t cost any additional money to the city.

Here are some quick facts about SLO Transit ridership as it relates to Cal Poly students.

Cal Poly ridership increased 82 percent from 2004 ” 2005 for the month of January

Cal Poly ridership increased 19 percent annually from March 2004 ” April 2005

Cal Poly averaged 61.5 riders per hour during the day in Jan. 2005

Cal Poly averaged 35.3 riders per hour during the evening in Jan. 2005

Cal Poly students accounted for 93 percent of the evening riders for route 6 in Jan. 2005

Cal Poly students are SLO Transit’s main customer base and we need more convenient service. What the SLO MTC will consider today is not a fix-all solution, but it’s a step in the right direction and it will fix what we can with what we have!

As your student body president and full-time advocate on campus, in the community and across the state, I want to know what’s on your mind, what you need and how I can help! Contact me at: 805-756-5828 or asipresident@calpoly.edu