Shuttle
service will soon end
By Joyce Kelly
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Beach Cruiser shuttles used for the overflow
parking that was necessary at the beginning
of the fall semester will cease on Oct.
24.
Parking
and Transportation Services provided students
with park and ride services on the Beach
Cruiser shuttles to the Veteran Memorial
Stadium and the Marina on an 8-week-trial
period. Students taking advantage
of the services will have to find parking
spaces on the campus.
This
will prove to be an inconvenience to some
students who are comfortable with the services.
Chad
Hartman, a senior anthropology major, said
he heard about the service at the beginning
of the semester and decided to give it a
try. Discontinuing the service will inconvenience
him because he did not purchase a parking
pass this semester.
“I
found out about the service and they said
they might extend it,” he said. “So I didn’t
buy a parking pass.”
“The
service was to offset the lack of spaces
at the beginning of the semester,” said
Ignacio Nash Carrillo, associate director
of Parking Transportation and Events Services.
The
end of the program was not a surprise to
the students, because they were sent letters
to remind them.
However,
not all of the students received a letter.
“I
didn’t receive a letter,” said Patricia
Jimenez, a nursing student. “But I just
saw it from the sign on the bus.”
Hartman
also said he was not notified by mail.
“I
didn’t receive a letter and I didn’t know
about Oct. 24 being the last day of service,”
he said.
The
convenience of the shuttle service allowed
Jimenez to leave campus later than she had
needed. “I just have to leave earlier.”
Hartman
is another student who will feel the effects
of the discontinued services.
“I
have a lot of classes in the middle of the
day and parking is really hard,” he said.
“I take the shuttle to the Marina and it
is close to my house.”
The
project was funded for eight weeks to handle
the demand for more parking spaces for the
students, said Tom Bass, senior director
of parking/transportation/events services.
“The service was funded from parking citation
fees,” he said.
More
spaces are available for students to park
on campus, so there is no need for the park
and ride service, Bass said.
“There
are empty spaces now,” he added.
Jimenez
said he feels the service should continue.
“I
think they should continue it from now on,
throughout the semester,” she said.
Hartman
agreed.
“Since
I don’t have a parking pass, I have to try
to find parking on Bellflower,” he said.
“It is always crowded, too.”
The
park and ride service is expected to return
in the beginning of the spring semester,
Bass said.
Bass
said 350 cars were parked on the two off-campus
locations on Sept. 3.
In
the meantime, the Campus Connection shuttles
will continue with their normal schedules.
Rides are provided Monday through Thursday
from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m.
to 5 p.m.
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