Admins. respond to transport concerns

PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press

BOSTON--Boston University sophomore Dory Greenberg said she often walks home to her South Campus residence by herself, even late at night. She said most of her friends live in West Campus or apartments, and she does not always hail a cab -- the only form of late-night transportation available after about 1 a.m.

"I usually try to have 20 bucks on me at all times, but because I'm a poor college kid, that's not always the case," Greenberg, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said. "So, I actually have an Army-Navy mix of tear gas and pepper spray on my keychain . . . Some people might not be that paranoid, but I definitely am."


As an uptick in reported robberies and assaults on and near campus has many students thinking about how to get home afterhours, university officials are also considering how to make students safer when they cannot avoid walking home alone.
Greenberg said she understands why the financially-strapped MBTA is unable to expand its bus and subway services, but the school should be taking the lead.

"BU has the funds. We pay so much. Just have the shuttle run a little bit longer," she said.

In fact, President Robert Brown, recognizing that students are away from their dorms and apartments late at night for both social and academic reasons, has asked the Dean of Students Office and other university departments to explore options for altering the route and schedule for the existing BU Shuttle, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said.

BU used to run a late-night van that would pick up students near campus through the Escort Security Service, though it was cut due to a budget deficit in fall 2006. Elmore said at a town hall safety meeting earlier this semester that students used the van as a taxi service, rather than for safety. After three women reported attacks to BU police during Spring Break, Elmore said at the safety meeting with BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins, his office would look into transportation possibilities.

Right now, on-campus transportation for students is limited to the BUS, which expanded its operation hours and frequency this academic year when BU hired Peter Pan Bus Lines to run the service. It makes seven stops on the Charles River Campus and two near the Medical Campus and only runs on weekdays.

A new system "will encompass a route not just from the Charles River to the Medical Campuses, but a reasonable route at night to get people around the campus," Elmore said.

However, Parking and Transportation Services Director Dwight Antherton said his office has no plans to extend BUS operation hours in the near future, despite student interest.

The BUS is intended primarily to serve students during educational periods he said, in an email. It is not a "cost effective transportation solution" when the service's financial and environmental costs outweigh the value of running the shuttle during low-demand periods.

Atherton said students should use taxis, MBTA services or the BU Escort Security Service after shuttle operation hours.
"I encourage students to make sure they have a way home before they leave," he said. "I hope people think about how they're going to get home no matter where they are."

Student Union President Adil Yunis said students are frustrated because the BUS stops running at 11 p.m., but shuttles from the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology run through and around BU's campus until 4 a.m.

"We've asked them to extend the hours of the BU Shuttle, and they told us no, because they said there's no money for it," Yunis, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. "If they don't have money in the department, BU needs to allocate its resources to provide for that demand."

Yunis said because BU has a widespread, urban campus, late-night transportation would relieve safety concerns. Students often choose to walk home because Boston does not offer late-night public transportation, he said.

"I think if the MBTA is not addressing it now, it's BU's responsibility to address it for its own community," Yunis said.

The last subway trains leave downtown Boston at 12:50 a.m. because workers begin track maintenance at 2 a.m., MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.

The MBTA ran a Night Owl Bus Service along T lines after subways shut down for the night from 2001 to 2005, Pestaturo said.
The service ran from 1 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. and charged an increased rate. Night Owl service was first received with fanfare, but by 2002, interest had receded. In 2002, the service brought in only $24,500 cash, a huge shortfall on the $2 million annual operating cost, according to a Boston Globe report. Facing increasing budget woes, the MBTA cut the service in March 2005.

"The T is not in the financial position to offer services that are not critical to its core mission," Pesaturo said. "The primary reason for any public transit is to get passengers to and from work and to and from school."

Limited nighttime transportation options restrict students' ability to enjoy city life, said Union Campus Safety Committee Chairman Leo Gameng. Cabs are too expensive for many students, and walking home "just isn't safe," he said.

The Union has been working with the university administration to create a plan so that students could charge taxicab fare to Convenience Points, Gameng said.

BU's transportation system is "marginal" in comparison to other universities in major cities, he said.
"We're all paying $50,000 to come to the university. We all need to get our $50,000 worth," Gameng said. "We need BU going to the city and saying we need the MBTA to give us these services . . . We need BU support of students going after these initiatives."

Because transportation services around BU's campus end by midnight, students must make plans to get home safely, Escort Security Services manager Anna Palladino said. Students should be aware of their surroundings and avoid walking alone, she said.

"The T, BU Shuttle and Escort van weren't any solution to safety problems at night because they all had an end time," Palladino, a CAS senior, said. "Crime still happens, and it come downs to . . . educating people of what they should be doing."

School of Hospitality Administration freshman Ashley Jeleniewski said she walks home with friends after midnight.

"There's really no other option," Jeleniewski said. "Other colleges do have a shuttle that goes all through campus throughout the night, and I think it's a safer way for the students to feel more protected by their school."