Since its creation last fall, ASU's Downtown campus has grown considerably, not only in size but also in its ability to cater to students.
But, some aspects of the campus are still leaving students in the dust. One being the shuttle service that ferries students back and forth between campuses.
The shuttle currently runs from 6:30 a.m. through 10:30 p.m. and does not run on weekends. While this transportation schedule may be convenient for classes, it may also be leaving students on the outs when it comes to the social scene.
"It does interfere with my social life," said Downtown graduate student Kacey McGinty. "If I'm downtown, and I want to hang out at the Tempe campus, then I have a problem."
Judi Nelson, the program manager for alternative transportation at ASU, said the decision to only run the shuttles until 10:30 p.m. was based on class times and money.
"It's budget-based," Nelson said. "We make decisions according to what we can afford. I would love to provide more transportation for students."
Nelson also said that up to this point there have been no formal complaints from students regarding the shuttle operation times.
"We tried to base it on class schedules," Nelson said. "We spend more than $1 million on free transit."
Parking and Transit Services are completely self-supporting. According to the PTS Web site, no state money, student fees or tuition go to PTS.
Leah Hardesty, a spokeswoman for the Downtown campus, said that another reason for the shuttle's limited hours is the number of riders on the bus decreases dramatically and almost drops to zero after 10:30 p.m.
McGinty agrees that, although the shuttle is very convenient for school purposes, it does little to help Downtown students who want to hang out in Tempe.
"It's great for classes, but for social purposes it's not very effective," McGinty said.
Nelson said that PTS encourages students to use public transportation for weekend outings.
McGinty said she believes that one of the keys to keeping all ASU campuses united is to provide a way to move back and forth between them easily.
"If this is one university, then I want it to feel like I'm part of a unified university," she added said. "And I think that one of the biggest ways to do that is to have an interconnected way to travel between campuses."
Hardesty said that once the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism shifts to the Downtown campus in 2008, PTS will be forced to more closely monitor the number of riders on the shuttle.
By that time, however, a functioning light rail system may help alleviate some of the transportation problems.
Reach the reporter at: matthew.pagel@asu.edu.
