Student Association proposal calls for universal shuttle bus service fee
In order to address the current shuttle bus deficit, the SA proposed a universal shuttle bus service fee that would apply to all undergraduates, graduate students, staff and faculty.
The resolution called for the fee to be set at a level that would eliminate the deficit.
The shuttle bus service has encountered problems in the past. Rice currently owns four buses that run the inner loop, Graduate House, greater loop and Village routes. Last year there was a 40 percent reduction in service hours due to mechanical breakdowns, and driver turnover was high according to Eugen Radulescu, employee transportation coordinator.
A debt of approximately $100,000 has accrued in the shuttle bus system during the past four years.
To cover this deficit, Vice President for Finance and Administration Neill Binford proposed raising parking fees next year to $96 for close-in parking and $12 for stadium parking, but no decision has yet been made. President Malcolm Gillis said that "all compelling arguments" would be listened to before the plan is implemented.
Many students disagree with the proposed increase in parking fees. SA Treasurer Michael Munson said, "All employees and students use the shuttle buses to a similar extent and should contribute to the cost."
"The students without cars would be paying nothing for their use of the shuttles, whereas the students with close-in parking would be paying $96. It's not an equitable cost distribution," Munson added.
The SA resolution calls for a small universal service fee to provide shuttle service for the entire year. In addition, their resolution recommends that shuttle operations be placed directly under someone with experience in transportation who could make future improvements. The Campus Police is currently responsible for overseeing the shuttle service.
Holly Sterrett, Jones SA senator, said, "People who drive cars are not the only ones who use the shuttle service. We are proposing a universal service fee of approximately $10 a year. [The SA] resolution is very fair, and we also are trying to improve the shuttle service. Many people use the service regularly, and to them it is important, so for their sake, we should try to make it better."
Munson said, "The SA's primary goal is to improve the service in tangible ways. For instance, chances are good that we will obtain one more bus next year."
Other students, however, question the value of the shuttle service. John Lessard, a Jones College sophomore, said, "As it stands, the $10 fee is not worth it. Rice is a fairly small campus, and the shuttle bus service is too inefficient and irregular."
On Wednesday, Binford and Radulescu met with SA and GSA representatives.
The administrators pointed out a number of problems with the Senate's proposals.
One main problem is with the universal fee recommendation. Texas law prohibits employers from garnishing their workers' salaries, so a shuttle bus fee could not be taken out of staff and faculty salaries without their consent.
Without the fee applied to faculty and staff as well as undergraduates and graduate students, the result would be that students would be subsidizing the shuttle bus service. This is similar to the problem that the Senate was trying to correct by passing the resolution.
Radulescu presented numbers showing that even with the $10 fee, parking fees for close-in lots set at $90 and no stadium parking fees, the shuttle bus system would still run a $8,541 operating deficit for the next fiscal year.
Binford agreed with the portions of the resolution that asked for an experienced transportation manager, likely to be Radulescu, to take over the job of running the buses.
He also said that he would favor moving more of the parking function which currently falls under his office to a parking committee. The resolution called for the creation of a standing committee on parking.
Munson said, "The reality of the situation is that it is too late to make a major overhaul this year. We have not collected enough data from all of the groups involved. Most likely, students will end up paying $96 for close-in parking and $12 for stadium parking next year.
However, we are only accepting this as a temporary measure. Hopefully, in the future, we will create a more permanent plan that incorporates some of the fundamental ideas of our proposal this year."
Binford said that he would prefer not to be "judge, jury and executioner," on parking issues. He cited other universities, like Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which have parking appeals handled through an appeals board containing students.
Binford said that changes to the parking fee structure and shuttle bus service will take some time to implement.
This item appeared in the News section of the April 21, 1995 issue.
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