Whether hiking to Frist Campus Center or the E-Quad, Forbesians face a longer journey than most. The time-consuming walk, which can be especially difficult in freezing temperatures, prompted Waqas Jawaid ’10 to create saveforbes.com, an online petition asking for a shuttle stop at Forbes.
The petition is addressed to University Services General Manager Paul Breitman and the USG and can be signed by students, faculty and staff. After stopping at Forbes, the shuttle would continue on to popular on-campus destinations like Frist.
As of yesterday the petition had more than 350 signatures from current and former Forbesians, other students and staff in the Forbes College Office.
According to the petition, the P-Rides Campus Shuttle System, which includes the Orange, Green and Blue lines, does not adequately meet Forbesians’ needs. Due to its reduced hours of service and the long waits, P-Rides Express, another transportation option, also fails to help Forbes students. The petition describes P-Rides as “sporadic and unreliable.”
Though the petition asks for an additional stop at Forbes, “we’re not asking for something completely new,” Jawaid said. “Really, it’s just asking to make the existing system more efficient with greater student input.” Jawaid is also a former cartoonist for The Daily Princetonian.
Students who live in Forbes must factor the lengthy walk to and from their dorm rooms as they schedule their days. An additional 30 minutes of travel must be added if students need to run back to Forbes from the E-Quad, Jawaid said.
Plans for the shuttle system
The USG, Graduate Student Government and University Services have been working on improving the shuttle system for the past year. A new shuttle system should be in place by fall 2008.
“We’re looking to enhance what currently exists,” Breitman said.
University Services spoke to student and faculty focus groups about changes to the shuttle system last fall, Breitman said. It also proposed transit changes to members of the USG. These changes would involve new shuttle routes and increased overlap between routes.
If the changes are approved, there will also be a stop at the Dinky Station, which Forbes students could use, Breitman said. A stop at Forbes would be difficult, however, because of Forbes’ location on the right side of Alexander Street.
One of the concerns students have voiced about the petition is that a modified shuttle system could have a negative impact on the environment due to increased emissions and fuel consumption, Jawaid said.
A request for proposals outlining the changes that the University plans to make to the shuttle system is currently being drafted.
“We’re asking for low-emissions buses to be used, which addresses the environmental concerns,” Director of Parking and Transportation Kim Jackson said.
Saving Forbes support
Forbes Master Christian Wildberg and Director of Studies Patrick Caddeau support the petition.
Wildberg said parents are often unhappy about their children living in Forbes, so it would be “reassuring” if they knew their child could take a shuttle to get to class on time and avoid bad weather.
The Forbes College Council (FCC) is also in favor of the petition. FCC chair Michael Perl ’11 said, “I think it’s one of those things that would absolutely help all the people, especially when bad weather is going on.”
He added that a shuttle would give other University students an “incentive” to visit Forbes.
The petition has brought on many different responses from students.
“I don’t think it’ll work,” Forbes resident Lucia Diaz ’10 said. “It wouldn’t make sense to wait for the shuttle. You might as well just walk.”
To others, however, the shuttle stop could be heavenly. “It would be a godsend,” Hannah Wilson ’11 said. “Sometimes I don’t go to class in the morning because I can’t fathom going all the way to the [Wilson School] fountain or Green Hall.”
Some have said the petition reflects laziness and spoiled students, Jawaid said.
But, he added, not all Forbes students will use the shuttle. It is “just so people can plan their schedules,” he explained.
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