Clarification Appended
Effective Friday, AU Facilities Management will be implementing changes to AU's three primary shuttle routes -- the red, white and blue routes -- that aim to create greater efficiency for students, the environment and shuttle operations at large, according to Assistant Director of Facilities Management Mark Feist.
AU is also decreasing the number of buses running during times that are not shuttle rush-hours, according to Alef Worku, manager of transportation, operations and maintenance at AU. The blue and red routes will now operate weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to a memo circulated by Facilities Management.
The red route will eliminate the stop on the South side of campus and go directly from the Washington College of Law to the Metro, Feist said.
AU Student Government President Andy MacCracken said he anticipates improvements in service during weekdays as a result of the new system.
"I think with the changes the shuttle is implementing, the problem of reliability will be resolved during the day," MacCracken said.
When the red and blue routes stop running, the white route, also known as the "super loop" will run on weekday evenings and weekends, according to the Facilities Management memo.
"The white route, or 'super loop,' really serves all facilities," Feist said. It will go to the law school, North side, South side and the Metro with all of the usual stops, he said.
MacCracken expressed to Facilities Management some reservations about the super loop, he said.
"I have some concerns about safety and pure convenience. I worry about students having to cross Massachusetts Avenue [at the Katzen stop] when it's dark," MacCracken said.
However, Feist hopes the changes would make operations more convenient for students, he said.
"If you're used to the old schedule and show up at those stops, you won't miss the bus ... Hopefully, the only change you will notice is that the bus comes faster," Feist said.
The changes in bus routes began with the reorganization of the Shuttle Operations, which is no longer part of Public Safety but is under Facilities Management instead, according to Feist.
Another component of the reorganization process was the implementation of an extensive study involving student groups, faculty, staff and a consultant group called Solstice Transportation Group, Feist said.
Through the study, Facilities Management wanted to address the riders' needs, resource efficiency and the environmental impact of the shuttle fleets, according to Feist.
MacCracken said he had worked with Facilities Management over the summer trying to promote students' interests.
"What I most wanted to see -- and as of right now, it's in the works -- is ... that they implement some GPSs on shuttles ... to simply answer the question 'when is the shuttle going to get here?'" MacCracken said.
In addition, an effort to decrease the shuttles' environmental impact is underway through a switch to a cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel and less idling time when buses sit with the engine on, according to Feist.
Drew Veysey, President of EcoSense and a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said EcoSense has been working to reduce the AU shuttles' environmental impact since spring of 2007.
"The switch to biodiesel has been a long time coming ... and we've been asking for [the decrease in idling] for a long time. We're happy that this is finally moving forward," Veysey said.
Transitioning to B20 fuel is a work in progress, according to Feist.
"We've experienced some difficulty in making some transitions ... We're trying to use by-product type fuel such as unused kitchen grease and animal fat ... and we'll be taking more time to make that switch right," he said.
The efforts to improve the shuttle system will continue past Friday, Feist said.
"Our work to make improvements is far from over," he said. "This is really the beginning step," he said.
You can reach this staff writer at mfowler@theeagleonline.com.
Clarification: In the original version of this story, published Aug. 27, The Eagle originally referred to AU's three "new" shuttle routes. In fact, AU is simply changing the existing red, white and blue routes.
