Students and other members of the UW-Madison community told officials Thursday they have concerns with proposed cuts to the campus bus services.
UW Transportation Services Director Patrick Kass said Transportation Services is currently operating in a deficit and needs to cut about 10 percent of the bus services to help balance its budget.
Proposed cuts could include combining services on routes 80 and 85 or eliminating half of the route 81 trips while also eliminating half of the route 85 trips after 10 a.m.
The changes would mean longer wait times for campus busses and increased loads of people on busses.
Gene Devitt, a landlord in the Mansion Hill district, said he feared cutting busses could make campus less safe and could make it more difficult for individuals with disabilities to get around on campus.
“I don’t think we realize that late at night, walking on campus isn’t the safest thing,” Devitt said. “If you’re going to get people to come to this school, you’ve got to have safety.”
Student Transportation Board member Laura Checovich said the board should have been more involved in conversations surrounding the cuts. Checovich said the lack of inclusion of the STB in the plans is indicative of a larger problem of shared governance infringements at UW.
“It’s insulting,” Checovich said. “Students are left out of the room on all kinds of things that involve segregated fees, and we’re smart enough to be in the room and we’re smart enough to have an opinion. I think it’s time everyone caught up to that.”
Kass said many of the meetings regarding the cuts were planned last-minute, and Transportation Services asked the STB for input earlier in the year.
He said Transportation Services hopes to cut money in areas that would have the least impact on services and gain input from students through additional campus forums.
“I think it’s really challenging when you have to cut any service to be able to satisfy everyone,” Kass said. “Everyone has services that they want or feel are needed, and cuts are difficult.”
