PUC Chronicle

Issue date: 2/19/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Bradley Ehrhardt The Peregrine Express was introduced at the beginning of the fall semester. Since, it has added routes but it has not added many riders.

Media Credit: Bradley Ehrhardt Laura Reynolds rarely sees more than a handful of riders as she drives the Peregrine Express.

The Peregrine Express shuttle bus pulled into the circular driveway outside the Student Union Library Building Thursday night, and it was clear no crowd was waiting. One student boarded the bus, then another, then finally one more before the bus closed its doors to make the trip to the Mansards Apartments in Griffith.

"I typically see an average of two to three riders per trip. The ridership is very inconsistent," said bus driver Diana Williams.

Williams noted she has not seen a large surge in ridership of the Peregrine Express since the service began at the beginning of last semester. She said despite many departures and destinations, the shuttle service has not caught on exactly as planned.

The administration hoped the service would become a valid option for students with a variety of transportation needs when the Peregrine Express shuttle service began operation in August. While the service is primarily aimed the students who lived in the Mansard Apartments in Griffith, the bus also provides routes to Strack and Van Til's grocery store, Wal-Mart, Showplace 12 and 16 in Schererville and the South Shore train station.

Although the shuttle provided over 200 round trip rides to students in September and over 1000 round trip rides to students in December, the average number of riders per trip has remained below three.

Students are footing the bill for the system. Currently the system costs $170,000 per year to operate and the money is taken from a portion of the student parking fees each student is required to pay at the beginning of each semester. Though the university has not increased student fees as a result of the shuttle system, some students wonder whether it is wise to invest so much money in a service used by so few people.

Ken Johnston, vice chancellor of administrative services, was the main administrator behind the creation of the Peregrine Express shuttle system. Johnston is not dissuaded by the lack of students using the system and said the numbers tell only part of the story.

"I am not disappointed with the service so far. We knew we weren't going to have a huge ridership, but the decision to start the Peregrine Express system was an infrastructure decision first and foremost," said Johnston.

The catch-22 is by providing student housing at the Mansard Apartments, a transit system had to be established to transport students who do not have cars, according to Johnston. Because many students who live at the Mansards Apartments are international students, most do not have any other means to get to campus.

Johnston said without a transit system the international program would be crippled.

"We are making a push for more international students in order to bring students from around the world right here to northwest Indiana. In order to have a thriving international program, we need to provide for their needs," said Johnston.

Maryam Al-ahmed, an international student from Saudi Arabia, said her commute from the Mansards Apartments to school on Tuesday and Thursday would be impossible without the shuttle.

"I ride with my brother on Monday and Wednesday. But on Tuesday and Thursday the bus really helps," said Al-ahmed.

But while she believes the transit system is necessary, she voiced some concerns about the schedule and the inflexible times.

"I wish they could pick me up at 2. The departure times are a real issue," said Al-ahmed.

But Johnston said he constantly attempts to adapt to the needs of the students who use the system. He makes tweaks to the bus system individually, even though he had planned to start a committee to review the suggestions and complaints.

"We've come out with a new student schedule this week," said Johnston. "It offers more destinations and varied times to meet the needs of students."

The Peregrine Express shuttle system will also be receiving a new 24-passenger, ADA compliant bus by the end of February, as part of their contract with Laidlaw Transportation, Inc. The bus comes free of charge to the school and the system will remain free to students with an ID.

A copy of the new bus schedule is available at the information desk in SUL or on the PUC homepage at http://calumet.purdue.edu.

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