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The 'Red Line Shuttle' option and controversy of 2004A
service of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference Transit and Parking
Committee and the HPKCC website, www.hydepark.org |
The February 22, 2005 Maroon reports that the Red Line Shuttle is officially dead. In its stead the #173 bus has been beefed up. More follows below. Not addressed? Need to make more dependable and decrease time between #55 late night runs?
In fall 2006 the University and CTA inaugurated #174 CTA service between campus and the Green and Red Line stations on 55th Garfield. It runs rush hours morning and evening with late hours c7:20- 2:20 am Friday and Saturday nights. More info in UC Routes.
In April 2007, Student Gaoverment Transportation Advisory Board put U-Pass on on the ballot for upcoming student elections. Opponents caution that this is a very uneven boon. The whole institution's student body or a major section thereof has to participate to the tune of $200 a year--it's not just free passes to those who sign up. For students who use CTA round trip at least 1.5 times a week it pays off. Students who don't ride subsidize the others. And UC is far less a commuter school and further from L lines than most of the 42 schools in the system. If there turns out to be greatly differential interest between divisions, chools within UC, those most interested could join.
A task force of U of C students were pursuing a Working Group with CTA, Laidlow, and UC studying options for a late night service to the Red Line, as well as more reliable and frequent service for the #173. There were protests that this insults and cuts off the community per typical UC isolationism. This writer has not seen evidence of any such community reaction, but it needs more study. A Red Line Shuttle was tried in Spring, 2004, but the whole thing went into limbo, apparently because the group running Student Government elected since are unenthusiastic about it. Following is a report on the status, from the Maroon of February 11 and Feb. 22 coming, 2005, including the so-so ridership stats. Earlier and background discussion and coverage follow.
Demise: see below.
Red Line shuttle stats add to campus debate
Chicago Maroon, February 11, 2005. By Joanna O'Brien
Sometimes University proposals take campus by storm, stirring debate from the dorm lounges to the Crerar computer labs. Last spring, the Red Line shuttle, a Chicago bus service implemented by Student Government that would transport students from the Reynolds Club to the Red Line Garfield stop on weekend evenings, became such a hot button topic. Amidst charges that the Red Line shuttle was an embodiment of prejudicial University policies that divided students from surrounding South Side residents, the shuttle began to ferry students from Hyde Park to the Dan Ryan Expressway.
The shuttle was not the resounding success its creators hoped it would be, nor was it a dismal failure. Over a five-week period last June, 889 rides were taken on the shuttle either to or from the Reynolds Club. During that same period, the bus made an average of 150 trips. Generally, an average of about six students rod the shuttle for each leg of the trip.
[The article does not indicate whether this was spread out or had many riders, say at the earlier and/or later runs, which might indicate narrowing the service might make it more successful. The article also does not give SG leaders' reasons for opposing the service.]
According to David Clayman, second-year Student Government liaison, the current Student Government slate, "Raising the Bar," headed by Robert Hubard, "ran on a platform that was explicitly against the Red Line shuttle bus." While the slate is less emphatically opposed to the service, their support for the shuttle is still somewhat chilly.
SG Vice President Ananya Das summarized the slate's official stance: "Since it was strictly a student initiative, after the [SG] assembly is formed along with the Transportation committee, it is up to tem to determine whether there is sufficient demand from the student body for this shuttle to be reinstated. If [SG] decides to do so, it will be seen on campus in winter quarter, at the earliest."
Because of the Slate's strong reservations about the shuttle, Clayman predicts that the service will "die on the vine" unless sufficient student support is expressed. Meanwhile, SG is considering other transportation options. David Courchaine, head of the Transportation Committee, is concerned with improving drunk-van service.
Student response tot he Red Line shuttle has tempered considerably since last spring. One the subject of passionate debate that featured catchphrases such as "academic imperialism" and "responsibility to the community", now the van seems inconsequential. Ashley Swanson, a fourth year economics major, said that she doesn't think students really use the shuttle to get downtown. "Many people don't even know when it runs," she said. Even students who feel strongly about the shuttle are less concerned with the University's relationship to the community than they are about the service's futility. Susannah Ribstein, an art history major, said, "I don't think the University should be babying the student body, protecting it from having to deal with the CTA the way the rest of the city has to do. Plus, it seems like a big waste of money."
The shuttle, which hadn't run since June, 2004, was officially scuttled in early 2005. The #173 was beefed up, sentiment being that it needed revitalization to be a justifiable subsidy, is in operation and known, is cheaper while Red Line was a clear diversion from other needs), already gives lots of evening hours and options and connections--now more, and can serve as an unaffected backup should CTA cut services (since #173 is paid by for by U of C) or (an educated guess/hope) spine for possible additional UC/CTA service outside the community. (The University says it has to subsidize more alternatives to to all too prevalent practice of drive-and-park to Hyde Park.) Also, the #173 is a public service open to anyone with regular CTA fare.
Red Line shuttle scrapped
Hyde Park Herald, February 12, 2005. By Jeremy Adragna.
A shuttle service that carted University of Chicago student to and from the 55th Street stop of the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line has been discontinued.
This week, under the new leadership of Kyle Lee, the U. of C.'s Student Government Transportation Committee announced that instead of the 55th Street service, the university has been working to boost service to the #173 bus line which takes riders to the North Side along Lake Shore Drive and is open to the public.
"The current student Government is opposed to the shuttle and so and I," Lee said. "There's no need to duplicate transportation options." The prospect of a shuttle that excluded neighborhood resident from riding drew the ire of some students when the pan was announced last May.
Neither local politicians nor university officials were interested in supporting the service beyond the pilot run. Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) said then that despite the findings, she'd prefer the service be funded by CTA. Student services spokesman Cheryl Gutman said the university was simply uninterested in paying for a shuttle which took money from other services. "The project met wit mixed success," Lee said. "But it was scrapped in favor of less controversial and more cost-effective ways of getting people where they want to go."
The service ran for five week last year on Friday and Saturday nights between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. at a cost of $2,100. The service would have cost the school as much as $12, 000 to run year round, according to studies. At the time supporters pointed to long wait times for student riders during late hours as reason enough to begin the shuttle.
Lee said the university subsidized #163, which serves commuting students and faculty, has been tweaked to run every half-hour opposed to every hour [on weekends and make any CTA stop flagged en route downtown].
CTA adds hours, stops for 173 bus. Responding to University requests, CTA to implement improvements. TAWG hopes to rectify 173's image problem.
Chicago Maroon, February 22, 2005. By Tisse Takagi
With finals a few weeks away the last thing on many students' minds is getting downtown and having a little fun, but for the few who do venture out of Hyde Park, transportation just got a little easier. Following the recommendations made by the University's Transportation Advisory Workshop (TAWG), chaired by Deputy Dean of Students for Housing, Dining, and Transportation Cheryl Gutman, the #173 bus will now run every half hour between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, and will make stops to pick up or drop off students anywhere along the route.
The #173 route, also known as the Lakeview Express, is a University-funded bus route that runs from the Reynolds Club up to Belmont Avenue and Halsted Street on weekday and weekend nights, making a wide loop on the north side of Chicago. "The major reason for the improvements to the service is to improve downtown access for students at the University," explained Anne Saporito, project analyst at the Office of the vice president and dean of students in the University. According to Saporito, "downtown access' is always a topic of discussion at TAWG meetings. Due to various limiting factors, the members of TAWG decided to invest time and funds in the #173 as opposed to other means of transportation from campus to downtown.
Those limiting factors include pending CTA cuts to service on other means of transportation such as the Red Line*. Because the University privately subsidizes the #173, it is not subject to such cuts, and these considerations, along with a decrease in its use, informed the choice to improve service.
Gutman reported that between one and two academic years ago "the [#173] service began to be used less and became less effective because of the lack of ridership and feedback." "The changes that have just been implemented are the result of continuous feedback over more than one academic year that told us that riders found that the structure and management of the route were not meeting the needs of riders for predictability and frequency."**
TAWG recommended a threefold plan to address these problems. Its goal was to increase publicity, the number of buses on the route, and the number of stops. The primary recommendation involved publicity. The #173 was though to have an "image problem," because students were either unaware of its existence, or had a tainted view of its service. Some people were reluctant to take it because service "was unreliable and it was too much an 'Express' bus to meet the needs of people trying to get all over downtown," Saporito said. "I only take the #173 when I'm waiting for the #6 and it comes first," said Rick Carli, a third-year in the College. He complained that in the time it takes for the #173 to arrive, he sees multiple buses come by on other routes. By increasing the umber of buses running, TAWG hopes to improve the unreliable #173 service.
TAWG was formed to address the various transportation needs of the University community. In addition to Gutman, it includes the assistant director of Undergraduate Student Housing, as well as representative from CTA, Laidlow [evening and special shuttles provider], Residents Halls and Commons, Community Affairs, the aldermen's offices, Student Government, and Inter House Council.
Along with the service improvements, TAWG has developed a marketing plan to address the problem of the #173's lack of prominence, as many student did not know, for example, that the #173 makes stops all along the Magnificent Mile.
TAWG members said they hope the above mentioned recommendation will "bring the #173 back to what it originally was supposed to be-a bus that ran with frequency and offered access to numerous areas north of campus. We are optimistic that these changes will re-invigorate this service," Gutman said.
*and #6. **A reason in addition for the same complaints on the #55 that the Red Line shuttle was thought of.
Herald article of May 12, 2004 (There was a similar but more detailed article in the May 11 Maroon; see May 27 Weekly News article below.)
U. of C. kicks off Red Line shuttle
By Jeremy AdragnaA controversial University of Chicago, Student-Government-sponsored shuttle began its student-and-staff-only service last Friday, as some argue the new shuttle could further divide the school from the surrounding community.
The new weekend shuttle takes anyone associated with U. of C. from the front door of the Reynolds Club at 5706 S. University Ave. to the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line stop at 55th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway for no charge.
The 22-year-old student chairman of the school’s transportation committee, Joe Anzalone, drafted the idea in early 2003 as a way of bypassing what he says is an often unreliable 55th Street CTA bus, which still transports CTA riders to the stop. The new U. of C. shuttle runs only between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights—high time for students, Anzalone says, to visit north side bars and restaurants. Anzalone says students were forced to wait as long as 45 minutes for the 55th Street bus on return trips, stopping many from leaving the campus at all.
The school’s Student Government approved a $2,100 pilot version of the proposal in a meeting two weeks ago, to transport students and staff for five weeks. A permanent shuttle would cost the school $12,000 to run 30 weeks per year according to Anzalone. Following the pilot he will produce a report for school administrators on the shuttle’s usefulness, barring any community grumblings.
“During the pilot we’ll be in touch with the 5th and 20th ward aldermen to make sure there aren’t any comments from residents,” Anzalone said.
But the comments came early from some dissenting U. of C. students who protested the shuttle’s maiden voyage Friday, May 7.
Protest organizer and 22-year-old U. of C. student, Justin Rolfe-Redding, says the new service is an insult to the community.
“We already have big issues with the community because students don’t get out into the community enough,” said Rolfe-Redding. “The campus already looks like a castle and we’re trying to make changes...students are being segregated from the rest of Hyde Park.”
Anzalone says community input will factor into the shuttle’s future.
“Some say it’s not going to effect them, since it’s operating late at night and it’s a direct line,” Anzalone said. “And that's if they notice it all. If they do then that will factor into whether we continue the service. We don’t want to do anything that will aggravate the relationship between the university and the out-lying communities.”
Rolfe-Redding says he and other protestors want to shut the service down until it can be discussed further, and endorses a push for CTA to boost existing service along 55th Street. But to do so could cost CTA as much as $75,000 per year according to a Student Government representative.
“We’re doing this largely in the spirit of compromise,” said SGA President Bo Shan. “If the community is outraged and ridership is low, then it’s done.”
The shuttle proposal passed the Student Government in a 14-2 vote two weeks ago. One of the SGA dissenters, David Gardner, was upset that the Hyde Park community was not included in the decision-making process.
“I’m not opposed to a shuttle,” Gardner said. “I’m opposed to a shuttle that excludes the community.”
Some boarding the shuttle passed an angry crowd of a dozen protesters with indifference. Others engaged arguments with the protestors. Pedestrians walking past seemed stunned that students would protest a bussing program meant to serve them. A few, including Gardner, joined the protest.
The proposal did catch the endorsement of the university’s Trans poration Advisory Workgroup. Chairman Cheryl Gutman said the group, made up of CTA, private contractor and school representatives, made the endorsement without a commitment to continue the service after the shuttle’s demand is determined.
“The only way we could fund a new initiative would be take away service in other areas,” Gutman said. “And we’re not prepared to do that”
Gutman said after the TAW reviews the pilot program the shuttle could be made available through CTA, which would be open to the public.
Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) says the pilot program is simply a way for the school to gauge ridership to the stop, but if a demand is needed, would rather see a permanent shuttle funded by CTA.
For now the CTA 55th Street bus will continue service along with the new U. of C. shuttle, both until 3 a.m.
Chicago
Weekly News
The bus stops here: How controversial is the Red Line Shuttle?
May 27, 2004. By Anthonia Akitunde
Standing across the street from the Red Line stop at 1 a.m. in January, facing zooming highway traffic to avoid the blistering cold, two thoughts cross your frost-bitten mind: 1) ?This is the coldest place in the whole world, and 20 Where the hell is the 55? On May 7, the Student Government gave U of C students an answer in the form of a $2,100 pilot shuttle prog dram. The Red Line Shuttle, running until Finals Week every Friday and Saturday, picks up and drops off students, faculty and staff at the Reynolds club and the Red Line Garfield Station. Free of charge and running at en minute intervals (twenty minutes maximum), the Red Line Shuttle eliminates the wait for the notoriously unpredictable #55 bus. However, many University students are questioning [whether] the Red Line shuttle is a good idea, considering the current state of relations between the University and the Hyde Park/South Side community.
The road to the shuttle has been a long one; the idea has been bounced around for some time. In autumn Quarter 2002, the Student Government (SG) Student services Committee proposed a shuttle program to the University administration only to have their plans fall through. SF Transportation Committee Chair Joseph Anzalone picked up where the failed attempt left off, bringing the idea to SG President Bo Shan in May, 2003. "I thought it would be a good idea since everyone I know always complains about the #55 late at night," Anzalone recalls. In late September/October 2003, Anzalone presented the fourteen-page proposal he had worked on over the summer to the University's Transportation Advisory Workgroup (TAW). Since then, Alzalone has met with several deans, the risk assessment manager for the University, SG members and assembly, as well as the Office of Community Relations. "Everyone offered great advice and worked to provide a solution that would work well for students, faculty, and everyone that would be affected by the proposed shuttle," Anzalone recalls. "The pilot program that we're running now will allow us to look at solid numbers in terms of how many people are using the shuttle and how the shuttle has affected the surrounding community."
Anzalone also says that the process included considering the effect the shuttle would have on he surrounding community. Having devoted much of his won non-academic time to community service, this aspect was especially important. "We decided to contact the Community Relations office to receive input from an office specifically designed to field short-term concerns about community relations as well as form strategies to resolve long-term issues. They informed us that there would be little community reaction." The shuttle--running Friday and saturday nights from 10 to 3--is believed to have little or no effect on Hyde Park/South Side residents; most of the people at the Red Line Station heading east during these hours are University students. "The shuttle would also be able to serve Chicago Hospital employees getting off night shifts, providing them with a more convenient and reliable service to the Red Line station so they can get home. Seeing as the U of C Hospitals is one of the largest employers in Chicago, this is a huge plus....This [is] why it makes sense to have a transportation option for these people, as a supplement to the #55 bus that does not run properly due to logistical problems." Anzalone explains that even with the reassurance provided from all committees and offices involved in the shuttle, Student Government took further steps to ensure community relations by keeping in touch with the Alderpersons in the twentieth and fifth ward (Hyde park and West of Hyde Park) so if any community concerns were raised, SG would be quickly notified.
While all f these precautions sound nice, some student just aren't buying it. One of the flyers for the shuttle was tagged up with comments that called the shuttle racist and classist, blaming the University for feelings of resentment the community might have towards U of C students: "It just promotes more resentment from a community that we've already tried to control to much." Another student retorts, "Why?"We students are paying for the service and our South side neighbors aren't. There isn't anything unjust about that. If the City of Chicago isn't providing adequate public transportation for them, they should bring it up with the city and not have a problem with us." Among individual dissenters, a student organization--Students for sensible Transportation (SST)--has moved from brainstorming to protesting in front of the Reynolds Club and the Red Line Garfield stop as well as petitioning against the shuttle.
Hannah Benton, planning committee member of STS, feels the shuttle is an unwelcome new kid on the block. "Fundamentally, enacting such a shuttle program is a powerful statement bout the role that University students want to have in our community," Benton states. "As I view it, the shuttle... is an unspoken message that st6udents want to be isolated from their community and do not care about the welfare of community members. I don't believer [that] is a message most students want to send."
Michelle Lee, a second year in the University and a member of SST, believes that students should work with the community to improve CTA service. "I have signed community petitions for better CTA service on the 75th Street bus, so why not work with riders of the #55 before students ask the University to pay for an exclusive bus service? Students need to engage with the city rather than insulating themselves from the city."
Would the shuttle alienate Hyde Park/South Side residents? Are students placing their socioeconomic guilt on the situation? The only way to answer these questions is to go straight to the community. Ant tha's exactly what this intrepid writer did over the past two weekends. I can see why students worry about what other CTA patrons would think of them if they rode the Red Line Shuttle--I didn't receive the warmest of welcomes when I first told people what I was writing about. One patron, leaning against one of the transit-card machines simply stared me down while another asked "Am I going to get paid for this? No?" before walking back to a pack of cackling friends. A majority of the people who did talk to me didn't notice a shuttle and didn't have any specific feelings toward the University or its students.
Even if the shuttle wasn't noticed by those I spoke with, Benton feels that the presence of permanent shuttle would have far reaching and noticeable effects on the community. "my primary concern is that if U of C students decide to ride the shuttle, the total number of people riding the #55 bus during those time periods will decrease. The CTA bases its decisions about where to locate resources largely on [the amount of people who ride the bus], so this decrease [people riding the] #55 will discourage the CTA from investing any more in the #55 bus service and may lead to the CTA's removing resources from the #55 bus service. Instituting the shuttle may, then, make #55 service worse overall, which would be a detriment to community members who are not officially allowed to ride the shuttle. I do not want my University to engage upon a plan that will so clearly act to the detriment of my neighbors." Whether or not the community will feel resentment towards the shuttle and students depends on whom you ask. Anzalone gives instances of community support for the shuttle. "One Hyde Park resident started to debate with students who were against the Red-Line Shuttle in front of the Reynolds Club. Another resident wrote an editorial in the Maroon citing reasons why the shuttle would not harm community relations. and dissecting incorrect arguments that have been used by those who seem to not support the shuttle proposal." According to CTA media-relations representative Anne McCarthy, CTA feels that the shuttle is not necessary. McCarthy argues that there were no complaints on the #55 and believes that "students just wanted a special [shuttle] for their own.
Outside of community relations, students are considering not only better CTA service (specifically on the #55 bus) but the option of having a CTA University Pass (U-PASS). A U-PASS is designed to provide free transportation for college students in Chicago. It can be used on any CTA bus or rail system during its normal hours of operation. The U-PASS replaces the need for cash and there are no transfers or surcharges. Many Chicagoland universities and colleges use the U-PASS, including Loyola, Northwestern, IIT, and DePaul..... [At UC it would more than double the transportation budget - and lead to curtailing the UC-CTA routes?]