Collegiate Times

Transportation has always been a concern for some college students living away from home. In Blacksburg though, students have access to a transit system that allows them to travel throughout campus and its surrounding areas. With students making up approximately 95 percent of the rider-ship, the Blacksburg Transit is making a concerned effort to make their services more efficient for their public as well as their employees.

Last night, the BT held a hearing at the Blacksburg Municipal Building for the public to voice their concerns and opinions of the proposals. Currently, the proposal consists of cutting shifts as well as reconstructing the number of buses en route.

?These are proposed changes at this point. Things may change between the two hearings, or they may change afterwards. What prompted these changes are simple efficiencies. We have three limited resources: funding, equipment and manpower. And we owe it to the public to serve ? in the most efficient manner possible,? said Ken Tucker, marketing supervisor of the BT.

The BT last changed their schedule and services three years ago. The proposed changes are also recommendations from a professional consultant. Tucker said that the BT hired Urbitrans to conduct a study of commuter traffic from week?s worth of collected data and an analysis that took approximately six to seven months.

?We just finished a study called the Comprehensive Operational Analysis. They just completed on our system ? all routes and all schedules,? Tucker said. ?What they found was that we have some real inefficiencies in our schedules. In certain parts of day, to and from, there aren?t many people riding it.?

The BT is mostly planning to cut the excesses from the system.

?We?re trying to promote better ways to fill our shifts and change our staffing. In terms of the majority of our service, it?s remaining relatively unchanged. We?re cutting off the fat that exists in the transit system and no drivers are complaining about that,? said Jared Hoernig, senior interdisciplinary student and operations assistant of the BT.

Tucker said he believes that proper use of resources, employees, and money will upgrade the efficiency and quality of the BT.

?If we do become more efficient and use resources better, which is what we?re trying to do, (we will) make our system stronger and make an expansion of our system and service and we will be able to redirect our services to meet demands,? Tucker said.

Hoernig said that there are instances of shifts without passengers on the buses. He said that the changes being proposed will cut service on certain routes to make the BT more efficient.

?I am all for these changes because we have staffing problems because we don?t get shifts filled, and these are cutting them back for us. The numbers alone don?t warrant putting three Hokie Expresses three times a day. There?s no point to have service on certain routes and that?s why the changes are being proposed," he said.

Sepideh Kahram, junior accounting major, believes that if the proposal and changes follow through, it will have an overall positive affect on students.

?I definitely think it?s a positive thing since Blacksburg is a small town and not everyone needs to take their cars around,? she said.

However, Kahram voices concern that certain parts of the proposal, such as cutting down the Windsor Hills route from every 15 minutes to 30 minutes, may generate negative attitudes.

By cutting unnecessary routes and rearranging the current schedule, the BT hopes to implement changes that will affect the future commuters of the BT. Plans for wireless internet on nine buses and touch screen computers for the operational employees are currently under development.

?With these kind of cuts, it gives us more funding to test and experiment to make service more efficient,? Hoernig said.

The BT encourages the public?s opinion on the proposed changes.

?It?s important that we have this. We want input from the public. We can look at numbers, but numbers don?t tell the entire story. That?s why we?re having two hearings, we want to know what people think,? Tucker said. ?(The) biggest part will be that people will understand that it?s not the operations system, or the directors system, it?s the public?s system.?

The second hearing will take place Tuesday, April 25 in Torgersen Hall 3100 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.