The Joey campus shuttle service will be replaced with a new shuttle program this fall, switching from Joseph’s Limousine & Transportation as a provider to A & A Metro Transportation.
According to Andrea Breault, transportation and fleet manager, the shuttles themselves, the shuttle schedule and the shuttle routes will all be revamped. “The brand new set of fleet vehicles will all be wheelchair accessible, provide service to the new 574 Boston Avenue building and morning service along the Boston Avenue corridor,” Breault said.
The A & A Metro shuttles, three of which will service the Davis Square route, will have around 12-24 passengers per vehicle, similar to the previous shuttles, according to Breault.
Deputy Director of Public Safety Operations Lee Romprey said the cost of the new shuttle program has increased due to the new fleet vehicles, expanded service and wheelchair access, but he emphasized the importance of these changes.
“It is essential that all shuttle vehicles be updated to meet better engine, emission, safety and ADA [American Disabilities Act] standards,” Romprey said.
According to Breault, the new shuttle service changes stem directly from student responses to the university’s annual transportation survey from 2014. Over 4,800 members of the Tufts community participated in that transportation survey, administered by the Office of Sustainability, according to Program Administrator Betsy Byrum.
In an email to the Daily, Byrum said that 53 percent of students and 79.67 percent of all students living on campus responded that they were somewhat likely, likely or very likely to take advantage of changes to the campus shuttle schedules.
Both Romprey and Breault said that it is important to review the schedules for on-time performance and adjust them as necessary.
According to Romprey, the Department of Public and Environmental Safety Administrative Services will be working with the student government on a monthly basis to better meet the transportation needs of students.
Students have had mixed opinions about the effectiveness of the previous Joey system.
“Both the Davis Square and Boston Ave. shuttles had their own drawbacks and inconveniences,” Osama Haq, a Ph.D. student at Tufts, said. “Due to its limited schedule, I could not take it for my morning classes. But when I did, I had to walk a lot to get to class each day.”
Inaccurate tracking was also a problem with the Davis Square shuttle, according to Haq.
“The time appearing for the shuttle to arrive was always lesser than it actually took to reach the stop,” Haq said. “Last winter, I remember the time when a group of 40 to 50 students with me started walking together [from Davis Square to the Campus Center] in frustration, because the shuttle was extremely late.”
Haq added that the shuttles were often very crowded because they had insufficient seating capacity or were very bumpy.
Other students, such as alumnus Audrey Michael, enjoyed the Joey’s service.
“The drivers were always nice, and I felt like the bus made good time,” Michael (LA ’15) said. “Because I used it so much, I got a feel for when it would actually show up at stops, so for the most part I never had an issue catching the bus I intended to take.”
She added that while the Joey would occasionally get crowded, she never felt like the shuttles were too small.
“I loved the Joey and am sad that they’ve replaced it; I don’t know how I would have lived without it,” Michael said. “Especially in the winter and at night when there are plenty of reasons you wouldn’t want to walk back to campus, the Joey is definitely essential.”
The schedules for the new shuttle program, according to Romprey and Breault, will be the following: Davis Square will run from 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Mon. - Thurs., 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. Fri. - Sat. with a relief shuttle from 6:00 p.m. - 12 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Sun. Boston Avenue will run from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Mon. - Fri. SFMA/NEC will run from 7:55 a.m. - 10:45 p.m. Mon. - Fri.
