March 2, 2012

By Elise Moser

The conversation about student transportation changes continued Thursday night at a forum for MU students and staff members. Solstice Transportation Group President Mitch Skyer asked students what they are interested in seeing from their transit system.

“Our goal is to see what the students want,” he said.

Representatives from Tiger Transit Movement, a student-run organization formed to resolve the transit issue, and the Missouri Students Association were in attendance, as well as Off-Campus Housing Coordinator Kristi Eftink.

Many students who offered feedback were concerned with how the solutions would be implemented, but Skyer said his goal was just to collect data.

“Today isn’t about how you deliver that service,” he said. “It’s about what you want.”

Students listed off what they would like to see from the service, including more direct routes to off-campus housing and longer bus hours.

MU student Carlos Martinez Villar said he has trouble navigating the current Columbia transit system.

“The major problem is the Columbia transit system is underused because of the complexity of the routes,” he said. “More people would ride the bus if it were simpler.”

Another major issue students brought up was the proposed fee by the city of Columbia. Skyer said this fee was not an actual proposal, but an idea that stemmed from other school’s transit fees.

“This is about the university and what the university can provide,” he said.

Skyer, who has worked with many other university transit systems, including the University of Alabama, the University of Kentucky and the University of Chicago, said on average, universities charge students $30 to $90 for transit.

He said it was important to note the fee is dependent upon what services are provided.

Another issue Skyer addressed was how to get students to support a fee increase. Skyer said transit is something that can benefit everyone.

“The way that universities approach that answer is that it’s a public service,” he said. “You all get a benefit from it.”

Eftink said she would like to see more direct routes from off-campus housing and campus, and cited the Brookside Townhomes’ transit system as an example of a successful system.

She said she believes an effective transit system is something Columbia can achieve.

“Columbia is built very well for a bus system,” she said.

Eftink said Interstate 70, Route 63 and Stadium Boulevard provide a way for buses to reach high-traffic areas.

Skyer said he plans to continue to collect data, and a campus-wide survey will go out to students and faculty in the near future.

The discussion about transit will not end after Skyer’s survey. MSA plans to host a student forum on transit March 13. Tiger Transit Movement will also be a part of the forum.

After collecting data, Skyer will work on producing a proposal for the university, which he said will include many options for MU officials to consider. This portion of his process will include Columbia transit.

“That’s sort of part two, the implementation,” he said. “It would absolutely include Columbia transit.”