Typically “liking” something on Facebook only allows fellow friends to know you’re interested in a new movie or that you’re an avid fan of Justin Beiber.
However, there is a helpful new page that ASU students can “like” that will provide useful information to make their day go by a little smoother.
On Sept. 17, ASU’s Parking and Transit Services launched a public page called ASU Transit on Facebook that commuters can use to stay up-to-date on parking permits, bus routes and other news related to parking and transit at ASU. On Sunday, 83 people had already “liked” the page.
The launch of this new page coincided with the Sept. 30 deactivation of ASU Transit’s friend page, which reached out to 443 friends. Parking and Transit Services decided to change the friend account to a public account in order to reach out to more people.
“Facebook has evolved since our original presence in 2008,” said Shereen Shaw, communications specialist at PTS. “Back then, there wasn’t an option to make a public page. We don’t want to limit anyone who wants to be informed, so we have evolved too.”
ASU’s Parking and Transit also has two Twitter accounts that commuters can follow to receive updates.
There is the main account, @ASUTransit, which provides the same information as the Facebook page. Then there’s the new and more specific account, @asu2asuShuttles, which provides followers with updates pertaining to the intercampus shuttles, such as scheduling, detours and shuttle enhancements.
The new Twitter account started around the same time as the new Facebook page. Business senior Travis Klein has found the Facebook page to be useful in his daily commute.
“I like that I can stay up-to-date on any changes to the bus routes so I can know when there’s going to be delays,” he said.
Despite having various social media accounts to reach out to students, Shaw said that PTS was eager to become even more engaged with students.
“We wanted to create something that could assist students even further,” she said.
At the beginning of the semester, Sun Devil Transportation Activity in Real-Time, S.T.A.R.T. for short, was launched.
S.T.A.R.T. is a free online application that commuters can access from their laptops or phones to track the status of intercampus shuttles that are equipped with GPS. Through use of this application, students can receive estimated arrival times to make sure their bus is on time.
Shaw said students can use the Twitter and Facebook accounts to complement S.T.A.R.T.
“A student can use S.T.A.R.T. to track their bus to see if it’s on time,” Shaw said. “If it’s late, they can go to Facebook or Twitter to get information on why it’s late instead of being left wondering why.”
Students can even track their location while they’re en route to their destination now that the intercampus shuttles offer free WiFi.
Journalism junior Courtney Jacobsen said she typically takes the light rail to get to the Downtown campus but would consider changing because of the improvements to the intercampus shuttles.
“It’d be nice to know what time the bus is coming rather than sitting around waiting for it,” she said. “I also love the sound of WiFi on the bus. I’m always trying to do homework on the light rail but can never get the Internet.”
Reach the reporter at Danielle.legler@asu.edu
