Students use the LTD bus station on 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street to get from campus to areas in Eugene and Springfield, such as the Eugene bus station Downtown.
Bus commuters to the University will experience several changes this school year. The Lane Transit District implemented extensive adjustments to bus schedules starting Sept. 19 in an effort to save money.
LTD’s board of directors decided on a four percent cut to services last March.
“This four percent cut translates into about half a million in operating savings,” LTD’s Service Planning and Marketing Manager Andy Vobora said.
Vobora said the economic recession has affected the bus system, which depends largely on payroll tax revenues.
“Locally, we’ve been hit really hard,” he said. “We’ve seen it around the country; there are some systems that have taken huge cuts.”
Changes affect almost all routes and include different time schedules and modified routes. Some routes have been eliminated.
Routes specific to the University that have been affected include 36, 77, 79 and the Breeze. Buses on route 36, which serve West 18th Avenue, will now end their trip at the Eugene Station instead of the University.
However, Vobora said at certain times, the same bus is scheduled to change to number 11 at the station — number 11 makes a stop at the University, so those traveling to the campus do not have to change buses.
In addition, LTD has eliminated number 77, which ran between the University and Eugene Station.
“We try not to duplicate service to the University because we have so much service running between the University and downtown,” Vobora said.
In addition, some evening trips on route 79, which goes to Gateway, have been discontinued. Saturday service for the Breeze to Eugene Station and the Valley River Center has also been eliminated.
Vobora added while some of the buses might be fuller now and commuters may have to go to Eugene Station to connect to other routes, there is still access to reliable service.
“We still feel there’s a high level of service,” he said.
Buses will start running later and stopping earlier on about 12 routes, Vobora said. A trip before 6 a.m. on some routes has been discontinued. And while LTD’s last bus of the evening was at 11:40 p.m., it will now leave at 10:40 p.m., a change that will affect late-night commuters, Vobora said. Many schedules have minor time adjustments. Vobora said changes were effected after the company conducted surveys to determine ridership on different routes.
The University and LTD have a partnership that allows students to ride buses for free if they use their student IDs. The program is funded through student incidental fees.
“We recognize that probably our single biggest ridership base is the University,” he said, adding that the company wants to maintain a good relationship with the campus.
About 2,500 to 3,000 people with University IDs use the bus each day, according to counts done last year, Vobora said. He said ridership on all routes depends on the time of year. In August, buses averaged 23,000 boardings. Ridership is usually higher during the school year. Last May, LTD had about 31,000 boardings on all routes.
Commuters are still adjusting to the changes.
“The bus that I take doesn’t run so often,” graduate student Mefdune Yurekli, who uses the 79 to Gateway, said. She said it may be more difficult to visit friends who live off campus in the evenings because of reduced service at the time.
Sophomore Melissa Girard said the changes will affect her work schedule later in the winter when she has to work early.
“They took off the morning route, so that was kind of inconvenient,” Girard said.
Math Professor Peter Gilkey uses the 81, 28 and 73.
“The 81 bus doesn’t run as often as it used to,” he said, but added that he has not been affected negatively by the changes. He said he is disappointed, however, by the cancellation of the Breeze shuttle on Saturdays.
“That’s a pity because that means that I can’t get to Valley River Center as easily,” he said.
Vobora said he hopes that as the economy stabilizes, LTD will be spared from making more cuts in the near future. He added that cuts had already been made to other sectors, and the company has tried to preserve services as much as possible before instituting cuts.
“We want to be responsible in terms of service,” Vobora said.
