Shuttle Schedules Are Still Lacking

The recent rash of armed robberies around the Harvard campus, most recently in the Cambridge Common on the way to the Quad, frightens us and makes us think that something must be done. One large but often overlooked aspect of safety on Harvard's campus is the transportation service the University provides. We believe that the shuttle bus service and the Evening Shuttle Van Service (formerly known as the escort service) must be revamped to make students feel safer.

The services as they stand, while not perfect, are much improved from last year. The shuttles generally arrive on time, and the Evening Shuttle Van Service phone operators are courteous. This year's revamped and redesigned shuttle schedule offers "express service" from Johnston Gate to Currier House in the 4 to 7 p.m. "rush hour," and the addition of a colossal new bus last year and another one in the next few months are helping to stem overcrowding. In addition, the shuttles now run on weekend mornings, a needed change.

However, there are significant gaps in the shuttle schedules, both from the center of campus to the Quad and to Mather House, that force students to walk home by themselves or take a cab when they should not have to do so. The Mather House shuttles are few to begin with, and from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., the shuttles run so infrequently from the Science Center to Mather House that students are practically encouraged to walk home by themselves through an area that has recently been subject to several attacks. And while the shuttle schedule has featured increased frequency from Johnston Gate and the Science Center to the Quad this year, that still leaves an inexplicable gap between 9:55 and 10:25 p.m. every night of the week (an hour when many students are returning home from extracurricular activities). In addition, there is no shuttle running from Currier House to Harvard Square from 2:10 to 4:20 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

These gaps, while significant and frustrating, are small concerns when compared to the vacuum created by the shuttle and Evening Van's early end times. The last shuttle from Johnston Gate to Currier House runs at 12:35 a.m. on weekdays and 1:47 a.m. on weekends; the last from the Science Center to Mather House runs at 12:38 a.m. on both weekends and weekdays. This is simply not acceptable for students whose study habits or extracurricular obligations keep them out later than this. In addition, students can only call the Evening Shuttle Van Service (5-0400) until 2:40 a.m. on weekends and weekdays, leaving students stranded after that. By not providing 24-hour transportation services for its students, Harvard is effectively putting them in harm's way.

Peter M. Witt, general manager of shuttle and fleet management services, said that the total money spent on the Evening Shuttle Van Service for this fiscal year is about $220,000 for a ridership of 26,000. Surely the University could afford to pay the drivers of its two vans for a few extra hours per night in order to protect the well-being of its students. Anything less than that would be an abdication of its responsibility to keep its students safe. We urge all riders to write in with their own input to the transportation services' new on-line feedback system, which will be located after winter break on the World Wide Web at http://www.uos.harvard.edu. Maybe then the University will listen.