2008 Woodie Awards
'Peay' picks up bus route
SGA, CTS follow route toward transit system
Jared Combs
Issue date: 8/25/08 Section: News
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The contract between APSU and CTS, finalized in July 2008, provides unlimited city bus access and on-campus transportation. The service is paid for by an $8 general access fee increase. The initial contract ends Aug. 30, 2009.
"It was an initiative brought forward by the SGA," said Mitch Robinson, vice president of finance and administration.
The idea was initially proposed by former SGA President Nick Pitts who considered the idea a possible solution to APSU parking concerns and made contact with CTS to begin drafting the contract.
Robinson said the service is expected to alleviate parking problems at APSU by providing an alternate means of transportation for commuters and eliminating long walks from distant parking lots.
Details of the contract were decided during Brian Huffman's SGA presidency in 2007 and 2008. The contract was finalized by current SGA president Chris Drew in July 2008.
The final contract was for $71,000, with a clause permitting the amount to be increased by three percent if gas prices spike during the contracted term.
"SGA did an excellent job negotiating this contract with the CTS," Robinson said. "And as a consequence we have a tremendous value for our students."
Faculty and staff will also have access to the new Peay Pickup service. Robinson said the faculty and staff portion of the contract would not be paid by the increase to the general access fee.
"The university will provide, as a benefit to the employees, the ability to ride the shuttle as well as the city bus system at no cost." Robinson said.
The Peay Pickup trolley route will circle the perimeter of campus and make nine stops. The trolley can be boarded or disembarked at any point along its route and it is expected to return to each stop every 15 minutes.
"When we initially started talking to them it was just a campus trolley," Drew said.
"Then CTS realized that their ridership wasn't necessarily what they wanted it to be and, by plugging in young college students to transportation, they thought it would be of great benefit to both APSU and Clarksville to provide city bus access too."
According to both Robinson and Drew, ridership is an important variable of the new service. The number of students utilizing the trolley system will be closely monitored during the first few months of its operation.
Two CTS trolleys have been painted with APSU lettering but they will initially operate one at a time. Drew explained if the service is well received then CTS could operate both trolleys simultaneously. "If both parties agree to it then we will have a second trolley," Drew said.
"We really hope that it improves [students'] experience here at APSU and helps students buy into what Clarksville has to offer them." Drew said.
To ride the trolley or city buses, students must present an APSU bus pass and valid APSU I.D. Bus passes will be distributed at the Morgan University Center help desk throughout the semester.
Freshman Emily Cavin believes the service will make her morning commute less time consuming. "It will save me a lot of time getting from the parking lots to the main campus. It's a hassle trying to cross the streets" Cavin said.
"It's a good idea because that is a problem here. You've got lots of parking lots but none of them are that close and you have to walk a long way" said Isaac Ziolkowski, sophomore, special education major.
For more information visit http://www.apsu.edu/sga/peaypickup.htm.