UCLA Transportation Services plans by the end of the year to replace all of its 15-passenger evening vans with 12-passenger vans to address safety concerns.
After a 2001 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, which found that loaded 15-passenger vans are susceptible to rolling over since they are top-heavy, the UC Office of the President recommended in 2004 that its campuses replace their 15-passenger vans.
There are currently five vans, and each van costs $25,000 dollars to replace, said Transit Manager Shannon Anderson, adding that the money used to buy the vans comes from parking revenues and parking citations.
“The evening van service is only one of the many transportation service programs, so it will not directly increase any parking fees,” Anderson said.
The evening vans, driven by Community Service Officers, stop at Ackerman Union, the residence halls, campus libraries, Lot 32 and the apartments on the west side of campus to transport students. They run from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
“Accidents are unlikely to happen by the evening service vans because they are driven on well-paved, residential streets, but these vans have been known to blow a tire while on roads with high speed limits such as freeways … and flip over,” said Matt Ellis, assistant manager of CSO programs.
In September 2003 the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 626, based on the NHTSA safety advisory.
The bill states that drivers of vehicles belonging to California public universities must hold commercial driver’s licenses because they need special training to safely operate those vans.
Though the bill did not affect UCLA’s evening van service because CSOs already had these licenses, it caught the attention of UCOP, which suggested UCs stop using 15-passenger vans.
“It’s not absolutely necessary, but it’s a safety issue. We eventually would need to replace these vans because they are old, so we might as well do it now,” Ellis said.
One van has already been replaced, two are coming in the next few weeks, and the rest will be in place during the summer, Anderson said.
“Our goal is to implement all the new vans by June 2007. But we will definitely have them fully implemented by January of 2008,” he said
Transportation Services, which funds the program’s equipment, will only replace current vans, and does not plan on buying any additional vehicles.
But Ellis said both Transportation Services and the university police department, which funds the vans’ drivers, are looking for ways to increase capacity.
He added that this may include finding new routes or possibly adding another van between 6 and 7 p.m., which is the only time the vans are full.
“Typically there aren’t problems with space because the way the route works. It runs clockwise and counterclockwise, so if you miss a van there is usually another one coming five to 10 minutes later,” Anderson said.
Su Hong, a first-year undeclared student, said she has never had a problem finding space in a van, but believes more and more people are using the vans.
“Since it’s a safety issue, I think it’s important to buy new vans. But there should be more vans, or drivers should have more shifts,” Hong said.