and Armando Padilla
Daily Lobo
The new school year has come and worries about transportation are big concerns for many UNM students.
UNM students who live in the Sun Village Apartments, however, can breathe a little easier when it comes to finding a ride to and from school.
The "Big I" construction, which began in 2000, prompted apartment manager Bryan DuCre to create a shuttle service to get his tenants safely to campus during the hectic construction season. He said the innovative service was such a success with residents that he decided to permanently keep the program in place.
"The construction of the interstate was especially damaging to us, which forced residents to have to drive through some neighborhoods on their way to school that aren't the safest in the city," DuCre said.
In the time that has followed the completion of the "Big I," the shuttle has continued to run consistently from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the weekdays, and costs apartment residents $15 per month to fund the upkeep and gas costs of the service.
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Safety was also a concern when this service began, DuCre said, because many student tenants who were without transportation would have to walk to school on some undesirable streets.
He added that the service has become such an essential part of the student-resident's lives that there have been times when the management has had to rent buses to keep the transportation moving when the shuttle would break down or need repairs.
"What started as a temporary fix has turned out to be one of our most successful programs and one of the selling points for our complex to potential residents," DuCre said. "We (the management staff) know how stressful it is to be a college student, so anything we can do to make their lives easier, we're all for it."
Sarah Knight, the shuttle's driver, said that the year the service began about 15 tenants took advantage of it, but the popularity of the amenity has grown to the point that now close to 100 UNM students ride the shuttle to class.
"What makes this service special is that, besides the fact that we provide essentially door-to-door service, we all grow close as the school year progresses, almost like our own little family," Knight said of the bond she has formed with students.
Knight said she strives to be as accessible and accommodating as possible, carrying a cell phone at all times to keep track of those students who have unconventional schedules and need a ride early in the morning or late at night.
She said because the streets around UNM are public property, the apartment complex did not need permission from UNM's Parking and Transportation Services Department to begin the program. But, she said, it took some time for her to be accepted by the UNM bus drivers.
"It was rough at first, but once they realized that we were just trying to help the students, we actually became close friends," Knight said.
Representatives from the Parking and Transportation Department could not be reached for comment on whether or not the Sun Village shuttle program was costing them money.
"I don't know what I would have done without the shuttle during the year that I spent living at the Sun Village," said Lindsey Arndt, a UNM student who said after tuition, books, rent and utility bills she did not have enough money to purchase a parking permit from UNM.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the amount of gas used by the average person was more than 740 gallons a year, which is hefty price to pay considering the rising costs of gasoline.
Those costs, coupled with vehicle insurance and parking permit fees amount to several hundred dollars a year, DuCre said, adding to the legitimacy and need for the shuttle program to continue.
