A recent schedule change to campus connection shuttles left some housing residents to find alternative transportation or risk being late to class.
“[The schedule changes] have affected me quite a bit,” said Ashley Hadji, a resident at Cal State Long Beach’s Residential Learning College. “During the week, it’s not as bad, but on Fridays, it’s really bad.”
Due to recent changes to shuttle service schedules, CSULB on-campus shuttles no longer operate on Fridays. The only working shuttles on Fridays are the RLC shuttles, which are exclusive to RLC residents.
According to CSULB Student Ride Share Program Coordinator Elissa Thomas, these changes were in response to budget restraints and efforts to promote alternative means of trans portation, in addition to less reliance on fossil fuels.
Hadji, a film major, used the RLC shuttle service as a convenient way to save on gas and avoid parking lot headaches. She said, now that the schedule changes have taken effect, she has begun driving her own vehicle to school on Fridays to avoid long waits and being late for class.
“I’ve just been taking my car Fridays to school and walking to class because I don’t want to wait for the shuttle because I’ll be late for class and my teachers don’t accept tardiness,” Hadji said.
Hadji also mentioned that the shuttles seem to be more full and crowded than they used to be.
“On Fridays, it’s packed, especially mornings,” she said. “Sometimes, I can’t even get on because the shuttle is already full.”
Vin Pham, RLC resident and civil engineering major, has also recognized changes since he began using the shuttle service after moving to the RLC in the fall of 2010.
“They are absolutely more crowded,” Pham said. “Especially in the morning and at 3 p.m.”
Pham, whose classes start at 9 a.m., said he waits for the shuttle at 8:20 a.m., but sometimes it won’t arrive until 8:45 a.m. He owns a car, but uses the shuttles for convenience because it would take far too long to walk to the engineering building, where his classes are held.
“I don’t know if it’s the traffic or they changed the driver, but it takes forever,” Pham said. “Last Monday, I was waiting for the shuttle for 30 minutes to get to my class and I was still late.”
Pham also mentioned that sometimes the shuttle is so late that he has missed classes.
CSULB’s on-campus shuttles are busiest on Mondays between 9-10 a.m. RLC shuttles are busiest on Mondays between 7-8 a.m., according to Thomas.
She also stated that crowded shuttles may be due to increased enrollment and students’ increased desire to use alternative means of transportation.
“Shuttle use is high, which is consistent with the beginning of the semester,” Thomas said.
Enrollment at CSULB is up, totaling approximately 34,900 students this fall — a 5 percent increase from the 33,153 students that were recorded for spring 2011, as indicated by the university’s website.
According to Thomas, housing residents can choose from a total of seven shuttles that will take them to and from campus dormitories. The two West Campus and three All Campus Tripper shuttles serve residents living in on-campus housing facilities, such as Parkside Commons, Residence Commons and International House.
However, residents living at the offsite RLC may only use the designated RLC shuttle, since it is the only shuttle that will take students off campus.
Thomas recommended that students check on the status of shuttles using the live tracking system at csulbshuttle.com. The site shows users in real time how full each shuttle is and how many minutes it will take to get to their stop.
If the Internet tracking or texting feature isn’t working properly, students may contact the Rideshare coordinator for assistance at 562-985-4091.
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