Campus has transformed tremendously throughout my time at the Institute. Most recently, Tech gave the campus bus system a makeover. Over the summer, Tech Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) hired private contractors to redesign the bus routes to address issues of redundancy and inefficiency, and they created routes that fail our campus. The new routes lack the coverage that made the old system useful, and they continue to struggle with issues of efficiency and frequency that afflicted the previous routes.
The Gold route, previously a godsend for anyone with classes in Scheller, is now a similar route to the previous Tech Square Express, connecting the Midtown Marta station, Tech Square and the CULC. Contractors replaced the rest of the Gold route with the Circulator, a route with strong potential but whose lack of frequency betrays its ability to be useful. The previous Red and Blue routes, which used to run the same route in opposite directions, are now only running half of the previous route. By cutting these routes in half, if one is anywhere on East campus, a bus transfer is required to get to the CRC or the Student Center, a major inconvenience for a system lacking consistent schedules.
Bus transfers are a common feature of many systems and would not be an issue if it were not for further issues with frequency and timing of the routes. The unpredictability of arrival and departure amplifies frustrations that lead from the decreased campus coverage. The new Gold route typically runs between four and six buses at any given time, while the Circulator never runs more than two. The Circulator would be a useful route if there were more frequent stops and more buses, but as-is, there are long wait times and crowded buses.
The issues extend beyond low frequencies and route coverage— bus bunching and long stops increase frustrations. Many of the redesigned routes, including Gold, Red and Blue, start and end in a small turnaround loop. Buses often sit at these stops for long periods of time. These long stops cause jams in the turnarounds, and create confusion for riders who do not know how long a bus will idle before coming to the next stop. These issues combined make for a frustrating rider experience.
Abraham Werner, third year CE & ALIS and the Joint VP of Infrastructure and Sustainability of the Student Government Association, met with the Technique to discuss the changes to campus transit services.
Werner stated that the outside contractors developed the routes anticipating that students would “just have to create a culture of switching buses to get where they wanted to go.” The glaring issue with this plan is that it requires a higher level of efficiency and frequency from our buses than we have ever had. For transfers between routes to work, a consistent schedule is required, a feature that is currently lacking in Tech’s bus system.
As an off-campus student, I have historically relied on the bus system to get me from Tech Square to central campus in a timely manner — something I can no longer do. The changes to the buses have rendered the system so ineffective that frustrated and exhausted, I made the choice to buy a bike so that I could get to class on time.
Biking to class has revealed a strength of campus infrastructure: the new cycling track. Having a protected bike lane around all of campus is an amazing step towards a more pedestrianized campus and reflects the merits of the transformations that our campus has undergone recently.
As campus continues to pedestrianize, and the student population grows, the importance of campus transportation grows. Prioritizing the safety of students by increasing bicycle infrastructure is an incredible first step towards a campus that prioritizes people over cars.
While Tech has invested significant time and resources into improving the bus system to address inefficiency and redundancy, the re-routing fell short and created new problems for riders. The changes made to the bus system reduced coverage while not improving the inefficiency that was the catalyst for the changes.
For the bus system to properly serve Tech, changes like a set schedule, increased transparency with students on scheduled break times and increasing the number of buses running on high-usage routes like the Circulator would be critical.
Even without a schedule, there are many ways to improve the bunching and long wait times plaguing the bus system. Over a decade ago the ISyE department developed a system which allows buses to automatically sync with each other to determine optimal stop times to reduce bunching and reduce wait times overall. The technology and solutions are out there, we just need to use them.
When taking the bus takes longer than walking, the bus is failing.