If you have ever waited for what seems like hours in the cold for a ride from Campus Shuttle, the university hopes to alleviate some of that strain.
Campus Commuter, the new shuttle service which started running Tuesday, stops at a number of major campus locations including the Wyoming Union, Classroom Building, Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center, the resident halls, Sundance, Spanish Walk, Willett Express Lot and long-term student parking.
“Last year, the bus system was not ideal,” said Andrea Vesco, a UW senior. “There would be times where I would have to wait for a long time or the bus would be so packed that not all the students would get a ride.”
Transit and Parking Services decided to change the shuttle system to create a more effective route. Shuttles can now move in both directions, said Paul Kunkel, UW Transit and Parking Services manager.
“The Campus Shuttle and the Classroom Express were both loops, so if [the drivers] had to stop, they could only go in one direction,” Kunkel said. “With this new bus route, you can go east or west, [either] towards the Classroom Building, or over by student apartments.”
The Marion H. Rochelle Gateway Center, UW’s most recent addition, will be one of the new locations to which the Campus Commuter will provide service. According to this week’s campus construction update, the Gateway Center is 85 percent complete, with mainly stair and ceiling-tile work needing to be finished.
In past years, Kunkel said Campus Shuttle passengers would wait up to 30 minutes for a ride. The buses will arrive every 10 minutes with at the new locations.
“Another advantage with this new system is more frequent stops,” Kunkel said. “We were at 30 minutes last year with the campus shuttle, and now we are at every ten minutes in either direction.”
There will be five Campus Commuter shuttles throughout the day and two in the evening. From 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., buses will stop every 30 minutes at the same locations.
For those waiting at the bus stop, TransLoc, a live tracking service of the shuttles, is available online or via smartphones at www.uwyo.transloc.com.
