NEWS IN BRIEF: A new bus ...

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One recent change has been to select a closer repair shop for the buses. This has yielded savings and reduced the cost of repairs and the downtime for the buses and their drivers, Radulescu said. However, downtime still remains a serious problem; recently, as many as three of the four buses that Rice owns were in the shop. He also has monthly meetings with the bus drivers to discuss problems and work with them on ways to improve customer relations.

Currently, Radulescu is taking a "body count" survey of shuttle bus riders to decide whether route changes will be necessary. At present, three routes are being run: the Inner Loop, the Graduate House route and the Greater Loop. Preliminary numbers show that on any given day as many as 1,976 passengers rode in Rice buses.

Shuttle buses run between 6:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. on weekdays. Current plans call for the hiring of an eighth shuttle bus driver to run a route on Saturday and Sunday nights between 5:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. That route would serve both the Inner Loop and the Graduate House.

The process is also underway to purchase a new bus to reduce downtime due to maintanence. Radulescu said that the university is waiting for bids on a new bus. Since a new bus will be built from scratch, it will not be ready for delivery until the beginning of 1996 at the earliest.

This item appeared in the News section of the September 29, 1995 issue.

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