May 14,
2007
Changes planned for campus bus service
Bus service covering University campuses will switch
to a private company and offer flexibility in schedules and customized
vehicles for the University community beginning September 1.
First Transit Inc., which specializes in college
transportation at Emory, Georgia Tech, and the State University at Buffalo,
among others, will replace larger vehicles on lines now operated by the
Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority and its RTS buses.
“The current system can’t change routes as
quickly and can’t do the kind of charter work that our undergraduates
find useful,” says Richard Pifer, associate vice president for
University Facilities and Services. “We have a good relationship with
RGRTA and we’re working on designing routes within their system to
provide other options like express service for our campuses.”
The First Transit buses will carry distinctive
markings to help new students identify them easily and feel more confident
using them.
“We will have a fleet of buses for charter
services, for example, that fit our needs,” says Richard Feldman,
dean of the College. “The system will be more reliable, more
environmentally friendly, and more economical than what we have had in the
past.”
First Transit will take over two routes at first: one
to the Eastman School and a second to Whipple Park, a residential complex
on South Campus. As the transition occurs, new routes and schedules will be
introduced. The company also will be the University’s charter
service, says Feldman, with a range of buses for 40 passengers or fewer.
With smaller buses, road surfaces will take less abuse
and there will be added flexibility for evening programs and events on
short notice, Pifer notes.
First Transit is based in Cincinnati with about 72,000
vehicles worldwide. Its regional office is located in Horseheads, N.Y.
