Anthony Pomo, a 7th-semester economics major, gets off at L-Lot after riding the Orange line.

Orange line makes a comeback

Transportation Services extends bus hours to reduce drunk driving around campus

By: Kate King

Posted: 9/3/08

In an effort to increase student safety on weekends, UConn will offer shuttle service to and from late-night hotspots around campus this year.

Beginning at 10 p.m. this Friday, two university buses will make periodic stops both around campus and at popular party locations such as Carriage House and Celeron Square Apartments until 2 a.m.

The new service was developed in order to provide "safety for any activities that are going on on-campus and on Hunting Lodge Road," according to Janet Freniere, administrator at UConn Transportation Services.

"I think it's safer for anyone who would possibly be driving or walking around campus late at night," said 7th-semester English and women studies major Kaila Most.

The late-night shuttle will also service off-campus apartments, including Mansfield Apartments, Holinko Estates, Hunting Lodge Apartments, Clubhouse Apartments, as well Northwood Apartments, which are located on campus. A full schedule of the route will be available on the UConn Parking and Transportation Web site no later than Thursday, Freniere said.

"It's nice. I'm lazy so it will give me a ride when I need one," said 1st-semester athletic training major David Jordan, who said he will use the service to get to parties off-campus.

Rachel Raccuia, a 3rd-semester exploratory major, said the shuttle bus will give students a responsible way to get to and from their weekend activities.

"You always try to find a ride, but it's hard because you don't know what [the driver] has been doing," Raccuia said.

The buses are scheduled to make stops every 25 to 30 minutes, according to Freniere. They will be driven by a non-student driver and will also have a monitor on board, who will be trained in first-aid and responsible for checking for alcohol poisoning.

UConn decided to not use student drivers for the late-night shuttle due to safety reasons and also because "we didn't want to put them in a situation where they'd have to enforce the rules with their peers," Freniere said.

The shuttle buses' monitors "will be there primarily to look out for the passengers and the driver," Freniere said.

If the monitor determines that a student may have alcohol poisoning, they will contact the UConn bus dispatcher, who will then get in touch with either the police or an ambulance, depending on the situation, Freniere said. The monitors are scheduled to receive training from the police on Sept. 11 as to how to identify and deal with alcohol poisoning.

Since the monitors have not yet undergone training, "this weekend it will pretty much be judgment calls," Freniere said.

The monitors will be a good safety tool for students who may not know that they or one of their friends is dangerously intoxicated, according to Raccuia.

"I think it's a good idea because you should get help if you're like that," Raccuia said.

Due to liability concerns, shuttle bus operators will also be conducting random checks for UConn student IDs, which are required to board the bus, Freniere said.

"It's not an age check, it's a UConn check," she said.

Freniere also reminds students that open or closed alcohol containers are forbidden by law on state vehicles. However, shuttle bus operators are not permitted to search passengers' bags or backpacks.

The late-night shuttle service is doing a pilot run for the academic year, according to Freniere. It will run every weekend on Friday and Saturday nights except for Spring Weekend.

"We recognize that there will be people we don't want behind a wheel," Freniere said. "However, Hunting Lodge Road is closed by the state and UConn police at 6 p.m. that weekend."

In addition to the late-night shuttle service, another bus line and parking lot have been added this year to increase student parking and transportation services around campus.

C-Lot, a recently built parking lot off North Hillside Road, will be accessible to all drivers with a paid parking permit, according to Freniere. Students with commuter, resident or apartment parking passes will be able to park in C-Lot while drivers with area 3 parking passes will not.

UConn has also decided to reactivate the Orange bus line, Freniere said. The line ran at UConn several years ago, servicing Mansfield Apartments among other areas. The route was discontinued, however, due to a low amount of riders, Freniere said.

The new Orange line was developed primarily to service the area of campus around Horsebarn Hill and A-Lot due to a recent increase in student activity there, according to Freniere. The line will also stop at the new C-Lot, in order to avoid overburdening Green line buses, which are already often filled to capacity.

There will be one bus on the Orange line and it will run about every 25 to 28 minutes, according to Freniere.

"To be honest, I don't anticipate the Orange line to be overly popular," she said.

While the Orange line will probably attract far fewer riders than the Green or Blue lines, Freniere anticipates that the added service will help alleviate campus congestion.

"For every one person that rides the bus up to this part of campus, there's one less car that gets caught in traffic and needs a parking spot," she said.