Students who commute from the Marina Lot to Cal State Long Beach on the Beach Cruiser shuttle service will find themselves without a ride after Thursday.
Since fall 2008, the Beach Cruiser has shuttled students from CSULB and the Long Beach Marina parking lot, but an increase in on-campus parking spaces has the university shedding the $18,700 monthly cost.
Mark Rudometkin, Interim General Manager of Parking and Transportation Services, said the Marina Lot was used primarily as an over-flow area when on-campus lots were full. With the completion of a new parking structure, Rudometkin said student lots aren’t filling up this semester.
“We’ve had on average 400 to 500 open spaces per day,” Rudometkin said.
Stephanie Hecht, a psychology major, said she would be devastated if the shuttle were no longer an option. She said that many students still use the shuttle.
“Sometimes in the morning they get pretty packed,” Hecht said.
Students who use the shuttle signed petitions that were aimed at convincing the school to keep the service going, according to Hecht. Rudometkin said that although he had heard rumors of student petitions, nothing had been formally presented to him.
Hecht said she wouldn’t mind paying a small amount for the shuttle if it meant she didn’t have to fight for on-campus parking.
“No matter what they say there’s no parking spaces,” Hecht said.
Students will still have the option to use the Marina Lot free of charge. .
“They will not be towed. They will not be cited,” Rudometkin said.
Rudometkin said that if parking becomes a bigger problem during the upcoming fall semester, the Beach Cruiser service could resume operation.
Alternatives to the Beach Cruiser include two bus routes serviced by Long Beach Transit — route 171 from Seal Beach to Cabrillo and the Passport D line, which runs from Belmont Shore to the Los Alamitos Market Center.
Students will need to walk to the corner of 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway to catch the city buses. Both routes can be used for free with a CSULB I.D. card.
I think it is a good thing that the school is stopping this un-needed service. We can now ride the LBT buses for free, sure it may involve a little walking but if you do not want to pay for parking it is more than worth it.