Students find CityBus convenient
By Heather Mangold
City
Editor
As Purdue strives
to make its campus traffic-free, the amount of students riding CityBus
to campus is increasing every year, said Marty Sennett, general manager
of CityBus.
The number of Purdue
students and staff riding CityBus has risen by roughly 23 percent on
a weekly basis since they began riding the buses 4 years ago.
Mike Jasper, manager
of parking facilities at Purdue, said CityBus is a helpful solution.
"It addresses a
number of problems we have, such as too much traffic in confined areas
and limited parking where there is high demand," said Jasper. "The University
is attempting to make the heart of campus a walking campus with no traffic
or parking within the interior of campus."
CityBus is working
in cooperation with Purdue to bring the University closer to this goal
by offering students, and now faculty, free transportation to campus.
"I think it's taken
a lot of traffic off the streets," said Sennett. "It's made students'
lives easier because they didn't have to spend time hunting for a parking
space."
In addition to convenience,
Sennett said CityBus offers students other advantages.
"I think there is
a safety aspect too," he said. "We run till 3 a.m. on the weekends and
I don't think anyone wants to go to jail."
Each year, Purdue
pays CityBus approximately $966,341 to allow Purdue students and staff
to ride free of charge, said Sennett. The amount is paid to CityBus
for students' fares and for reimbursement for lost fares CityBus would
have made otherwise, said Sennett. Students must show their Purdue student
ID card in order to prove that they are eligible to ride free.
In addition to various
spots around campus, a stop is located in the Ross Ade Stadium parking
lot. Ross shuttle buses leave every 10 minutes between 7 a.m. and 5:45
p.m., carrying students to class throughout the day.
For students who
live farther away from campus, the agreement between CityBus and Purdue
may be beneficial as well.
Jefferson Commons,
located near Wal-Mart on State Road 52 West, will have access to CityBus
transportation on the Klondike route.
However, not all
off-campus housing will take advantage. Willowbrook West apartments
provide their own shuttle service to and from class with a shuttle bus
purchased by King Properties.
"With this shuttle
you have savings with parking issues that Purdue has, as well as savings
of gas money," said Cindy Green, property manager of Willowbrook West.
Sennett suggests
that any student should hop on the nearest bus and ride its complete
route, which takes close to an hour, in order to be sure when and where
the bus will travel.
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