COURTNEY STEWART Students wait in line on Hilgard Avenue
for the Big Blue Bus. The Bruin Pilot Program has now been in
action for one quarter.
By Kimberley Ma
Daily Bruin Contributor
Unless usage of the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Pilot Program,
which provides Bruin Card holders with free rides, starts to
increase, the program will not continue next year.
Transportation Services introduced the one-year trial program on
Sept. 25, to help alleviate traffic and parking congestion around
the UCLA area, but so far the goals have not been reached.
“Looking at the preliminary data, the ridership did not
materialize to the level predicted,” said Mark Stocki,
director of Transportation Services.
But Donald Shoup, chair of the Department of Urban Planning who
worked on the project with Transportation Services, said
otherwise.
“I think it’s working extremely well for faculty,
staff members and bus riders,” Shoup said. “But we have
to wait to evaluate the program. It’s very hard to predict
how these type of things will work out.”
Students may currently ride the bus free because of a $1 million
subsidy provided by Parking Services. UCLA tallies the amount of
Bruin Card swipes at the end of each month and pays the Santa
Monica bus lines a discounted rate of 45 cents per swipe.
The primary reason for subsidizing the program is to decrease
demand for parking, but applications for permits continue to
increase.
“This winter quarter, the wait list for parking permits
has reached an all time high of 3,200,” Stocki said.
“Nothing close to that number has ever occurred
before.”
The program is also intended to make riding the bus more
attractive and efficient to students.
“Taking the bus is a lot cheaper than paying for a parking
permit and it’s more convenient,” said Vishal Goyal, a
third-year economics student.
“I saved around $300 this quarter and I hope this program
continues next year,” Goyal said.
In addition to providing services to students who live off
campus, the bus allows residents who don’t have cars to
explore Los Angeles. Bus lines run from downtown L.A. to Pacific
Palisades.
“I don’t like taking buses because they seem
unsafe,” said Noriko Ho, a first-year engineering student.
“Since I don’t have a car myself, I usually stay within
walking distance. But if I ever need to go off campus, then having
the bus would be convenient,” she said.
To help promote the pilot program, Transportation Services sent
out e-mails to every student in Santa Monica, posted flyers and
made presentations on and off campus, according to Penny Menton,
associate director of Transportation Services.
“We have gone as far as possible in marketing,”
Stocki said. “We tried to make it as friendly, as seamless
and as accessible as possible, but indications have shown no
reduction in (parking permit) demands.”
Universities with similar programs include UC Berkeley, Davis,
Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
“We’ve never found a campus that started a program
like this and didn’t decide to keep using it,” Shoup
said.
“We are one of the last schools to use this program and I
find it odd considering L.A. is one of the most polluted
cities,” he continued.
But Stocki said geographic factors must be considered before the
success of UCLA’s pilot program can be compared to that of
other universities. UCLA is one of the few universities in the
country set in a large metropolis.
“UCLA is very unique,” Stocki said. “Our
campus has a different setting and it’s very
complex.”