Duke’s busiest bus route has gained part-time express service but lost the satisfaction of some students and staff.
Duke Parking and Transportation Services has added two bus routes to its schedule. The office now operates three C-1 Express buses that provide nonstop service between East and West Campuses. And in addition to the remaining non-express C-1 route, there is now a C-1-5 route which detours to Smith Warehouse, while still making stops along Campus Drive.
The changes are posing some major inconveniences for students and staff, especially those who often see the new express shoot right by them on Campus Drive.
“I feel bad driving by a lot of people on Campus Drive,” senior Katie Sourbeer said.
Jenny Kim, a first-year master of environmental management at the Nicholas School of the Environment, said she believes the buses may as well make the extra stop.
“If they’re going to stop at a stoplight, and there’s a person at the door, why not?” Kim said.
Since the introduction of the C-1 Express service, students and staff waiting at bus stops along Campus Drive have complained about less frequent service. A frequent commuter between West and her Smith Warehouse office, Paula Mangiafico, senior processing archivist for the Rare Book, Manuscript and Special Collections Library, said she is frustrated with the new schedule.
“I’ve had to wait twenty minutes to get a regular bus,” Mangiafico said. “It’s eating up forty minutes every time just to go back and forth to West.”
Magniafico added that the changes to the busing system have been poorly communicated.
“When the semester began, there was a whole new bus schedule,” she said. “Nobody was informed and so nobody knew what was going on. It was a big mess.”
Sam Veraldi, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said he understands that the new schedule poses some challenges, but noted that he believes the bus system will improve later this Fall when new buses join the fleet.
Veraldi added that he took into account information from the Office of the Registrar about expected student traffic between East and West Campus during class changes when designing the new schedule.
“The majority of our passengers are going directly between East and West,” Veraldi said. “We’re trying to move the largest group possible in the most expeditious manner.”
And though the introduction of express buses may have created the impression that service to Campus Drive bus stops has been reduced, Veraldi said those stops are served just as often as last year.
During class time, from approximately 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the new C-1 express buses run every five minutes. The regular C-1 bus and the C-1-5 bus run every 20 minutes but head in opposite directions. According to last year’s bus schedule, however, non-express C-1 buses ran every three to six minutes.
Veraldi said he believes much of the dissatisfaction is due to difficulties in communication, though he noted that his office advertised the changes by reaching out to students during orientation week and through DukeToday.
“We might have to try sitting out there with coffee and doughnuts and explain it to people,” he said.
And though this year’s bus schedule is posted on the Parking and Transportation Services website, there is no mention of the C-1 Express as of Wednesday,.
“I think we need to fix that,” he said.
Furthering many students’ confusion, some have reported seeing C-1 Express bus drivers allowing students on or off along Campus Drive, despite official policy.
Veraldi noted that his office plans to evaluate this problem.
“Right now, our drivers are told to run the express route,” he said. “Some transit systems believe [opening the doors at stoplights] is okay. We’re trying to really look at that right now.”
Several bus drivers declined to comment.
Relief may come in early October, when Duke expects to receive two large, hybrid, accordion-style buses—manufactured by Nova Bus, a subsidiary of Volvo.
According to the Nova Bus website, the 62-foot hybrid buses have a rated capacity of 112 people. This is a marked increase from the standard capacity of Duke’s current bus fleet, Veraldi said. The two buses, purchased for a combined $1.7 million using University funds, will serve the C-1 Express route, he added.
“It will be a very good thing for us,” Veraldi said. “They should alleviate a lot of congestion.”
The introduction of express service and the purchase of the new hybrids are part of an effort to improve Duke’s transportation offerings, Veraldi noted.
Real-time GPS bus-tracking is currently in the works.
“We continue to focus on getting better all the time,” Veraldi said. “We are taking a serious look at integrating technology in our infrastructure. We’re more than exploring.”
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