Due to concerns raised by the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, the
BruinGo! program ““ which allows students to ride the bus for
a quarter instead of the full fare ““ may be discontinued next
quarter.
UCLA’s contract with Big Blue Bus expired at the end of
last school year, and the bus service said in August that it was
not being compensated for all the rides students were taking, said
Renee Fortier, director of Transportation Services.
“They expressed concern that not everyone is paying their
25 cents at the pay box, so they are disinclined to keep the
current process going unless they get more money,” Fortier
said.
Transportation Services may not be able to meet some of the
demands made by Big Blue Bus, which include subsidization of the
entire program.
“We’re hoping we can continue the program as it has
the past few years, but Big Blue Bus has made several demands that
are difficult for us to meet,” said Sam Corbett, the manager
of planning and analysis for UCLA Transportation Services.
The university is already beginning to feel the effects of the
negotiations.
In order to help compensate for financial losses, Big Blue Bus
has decreased the discount the university receives, Fortier
said.
For anyone who is not a student or senior citizen, the Big Blue
Bus fare is 75 cents, and Transportation Services had previously
negotiated a price of 63 cents per ride which it would subsidize so
the UCLA community would only pay 25 cents.
But Big Blue Bus has increased the price to 69 cents, leaving
Transportation Services to pay for an additional six cents per
ride, which translates to an extra $75,000 a year.
Fortier said the unused funds allocated for the subsidization of
GoMetro, another bus service which is partially subsided by
Transportation Services, could be used to cover the entire $75,000.
GoMetro has sold 600 passes of a projected 1,000 for the fall
quarter, Fortier said.
Big Blue Bus has suggested that a student referendum be drawn to
subsidize the entire BruinGo! program so that Big Blue Bus is
guaranteed to receive a full payment for all riders, Fortier
said.
Fortier said even if a student referendum were to pass, it would
not be valid until the next academic year, meaning an agreement
must be reached to facilitate bus usage before the referendum takes
effect.
Some involved say that a referendum is not even an option.
“With all the other fee increases that are happening, a
student referendum for Big Blue Bus is unrealistic,” said
Joseph Vardner, a student representative on the Transportation
Services Advisory Board and facilities commissioner for
undergraduate student government.
Fortier said Transportation Services was able to convince Big
Blue Bus to continue the old contract terms until the end of this
quarter, but that an agreement must be reached by the end of
December.
“Transportation Services is trying to meet with Big Blue
Bus in the next week or two to try to reach an agreement … If
they don’t, we will have to start educating people (about the
discontinuation of BruinGo!),” Vardner said.
Vardner said despite concerns raised by Big Blue Bus, all the
evidence shows students are paying their co-payment when they ride
the bus.
“Big Blue Bus shows that they lost $200,000 last year. If
that’s true, then 85 percent of the people using the program
haven’t paid,” Vardner said. “That would mean
that 85 percent of the people are swiping and not
paying.”
There is concern that occasional Big Blue Bus riders will be
hurt the most if the current BruinGo! program is discontinued.
Fortier and Vardner said the Flash Pass ““ which provides
unlimited rides for $22.50 per quarter ““ does not serve the
occasional rider very well.
“With BruinGo!, even if you only ride once a week or once
a month, we can still subsidize your ride,” Fortier said.
Vardner said he expects a decrease in people riding the bus if
the BruinGo! program stops.
“Our guess is that a lot of the students who don’t
use it to commute just won’t use it at all,” Vardner
said.
Fortier also said they are considering subsidizing other
available programs, such as the Big Blue Bus tokens, but that the
ideal situation would be to continue the BruinGo! program as it
is.
“I’m very hopeful … that we will be able to reach
an agreement,” Fortier said.