City mulling new campus bus routes

Equipped with results from a campus wide Market Segment Survey about public transit usage, city parking, and housing, the Student Senate will continue discussions about revamping the current bus service to the campus area in upcoming meetings. Director of City Affairs, Tyler Burkart presented potential changes to the system in a November senate meeting. The scope of the plan included increasing the transit system in La Crosse for sustainability purposes, providing additional bus services, reviewing current routes, and analyzing which routes work best for UW-L students. Despite presenting the transit information, Burkart wants to remind everyone that nothing is set in stone. "There aren't any official proposals yet for a new bus route, only discussions. We will advance the topic in more detail next semester." According to the December 2008 survey findings, 16.9% of students say they use a bus at least once a week, while 57.9% say they use a bus at least once a month. During his presentation, Burkart said these numbers show that students have an understanding of how to use the transit system. Additionally, 55.2% of students indicated that they would use the bus services more frequently if it would run more often around the campus area. Currently, the bus system runs about every thirty minutes per cycle on average. In the full Market Segment Report, available at the Municipal Transit's (MTU) page on the City of La Crosse's website, analysts discuss the development of a campus circulator bus route that could meet student rider's needs for short distance travel. Quoted in the report, circulator route benefits would allow for, "the reduction of auto usage, improved parking for neighborhood residents, and improved mobility to and from campus." The transit system currently has eight fixed routes and two flexible routes with 496 bus stops. The transit website states there are an average of 4,200 riders per day during the school year. The market survey was conducted after the City of La Crosse contracted Bourne Transit Consulting in October 2008 to assist in the development strategies that will result in increased ridership of the MTU. For more information about the report and its findings visit the MTU website at www.cityoflacrosse.org.