By Rachael Straus
Daily Bruin Contributor
The BruinGo! pilot program, which has provided the UCLA
community with free access to the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus since
September, was extended for another academic year Thursday.
The decision was based on positive student feedback regarding
the program and inconclusive data on bus ridership, said Sam
Morabito, associate vice chancellor of business and finance.
"After extensive discussions, we decided that even though
current numbers didn’t show substantial increases in ridership, we
need at least two or three more quarters of data," said Mark
Stocki, director of Transportation Services.
Part of the reason the data is inconclusive is because marketing
for BruinGo! was initiated just shortly before fall quarter, Stocki
said.
"The bus technology, which can read the BruinCard, wasn’t ready
until weeks before fall quarter so we couldn’t market well in
advance," he said.
Marketing plans for next year include sending information about
the BruinGo! program in registration packets and sending e-mails to
the campus community before they make their transportation
arrangements for the year.
The program, which currently has a $1 million budget provided by
Transportation Services, is hoping to secure grants from the
Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Environmental Protection
Agency for next year.
While it remains to be seen if the program will become
permanent, much of the student feedback on BruinGo! has been
positive.
"To give this option to students, staff and faculty is a nice
token given by the university saying that they recognize the
impossible parking situation on campus," said Douglas Kolozsvari,
the Graduate Student Association representative on the
Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee.
Transportation Services will make the final decision on whether
to establish the program permanently based on the degree of
increased ridership on the Big Blue Bus and the procurement of
necessary funds.