Beginning this fall, students and faculty alike could see significant changes to the University of Wisconsin campus bus service because of a budget deficit.
Bus services will be decreased by about 10 percent, according to UW Transportation Services, with any changes to be implemented starting Sept. 1 this year. In the coming week, the campus community will have the opportunity to provide input on the changes in two forums.
In an email to The Badger Herald, UW Transportation Services director Patrick Kass said the cuts to the campus bus system are a result of the budget situation after discussing possible changes with Associated Students of Madison, University Housing and Madison Metro, which all jointly fund the service.
UW Housing funds about 6 percent of the service, while Transportation Services and ASM split the remaining cost, according to a UW statement. The upcoming changes will not affect the amount students pay in segregated fees toward the service, but rather the arrival times, the statement said.
Kass said Transportation Services receives no university or state funding for its transportation programs on campus, meaning that all revenue is generated by Transportation Services mainly through parking permits. He said these pay for the bus service, among others.
“Over the past several years, Transportation Services has been operating with a structural deficit in our budget,” he said in the email. “We have been working to cut expenses and increase revenue without placing the entire burden on our permit holders.”
According to the statement, three options for adjusting to the service decrease will be presented to the campus community, and two of the three will need to be implemented.
The first is an increase in the time between arrivals for the Route 85 from the current 10 minutes to 20 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.
The second option would adjust the Route 80 and 85 bus schedules to optimize service by moving some times of arrivals, and the third piece would involve changing wait times from 15 to 30 minutes for the Route 81 night route.
Student Transportation Board Rep. Laura Checovich said the proposed changes sound in line with what was negotiated with UW Transportation Services, except for the changes to the 81 Route.
“I would say that the Student Transportation Board is absolutely not recommending any changes to the 81 because we take safety very seriously,” she said.
She said the recommendations the Student Transportation Board had made regarding changes to the 80 and 85 were cost-effective and in line with prioritizing safety for students and that making changes to the 81 should be the option not implemented of the three.
She said it does not make any sense to have students waiting outside at night for longer periods of time rather than increase the headway time for daytime routes.
Checovich said regardless, she hopes students will take these possible changes seriously and be active in the upcoming forums.
The upcoming public meeting will take place Thursday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Union, where campus input will be the focus, and the second public meeting will be Metro Transit’s meeting on Wednesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. at the Madison Municipal Building.
