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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM | NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2007
》 LOCAL TRANSIT
City bus system could see change
By Alaide Vilchis avilchis@kansan.com
Students might not have the option to buy a Lawrence bus pass through KU on Wheels next semester because of a budget crisis in the City of Lawrence.
Currently, students are able to get a year-long pass to ride "The T" by paying an additional $25 when purchasing a University bus pass.
Cliff Galante, Lawrence public transit administrator, said the program might "disappear" as a way to increase funding for the Lawrence
bus system by $450,000 next year.
The possible end of the program, which is currently used by 300 students, was discussed Tuesday night The public transit advisory committee met to make its recommendations to the city commission.
"Based in our budget challenges and considering that such a small percentage of the general student population really utilizes that service really it doesn't make sense for the city to continue to offer those kinds of discounts," Galante said.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Because of changes to the city's bus system, "The T", students might not have the option to purchase a "T" pass with a KU on Wheels in the fall. Eliminating the program could increase funding for the bus system by $450,000.
One of the alternatives to replace the special discount for University
students is a reduced fare.
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"Students will definitely be affected by the changes," Miller said. "Ridership might very well decrease because of this."
Galante said that if the city commission does not find the money to fund "The T" next year, the transportation system will have to cut Saturday bus services, reduce hours and service area.
This reduction in prices, however, might not help students' pockets much if the city commission passes another suggestion for funding of "The T." The transit department has suggested that buses change their fares from 50 cents to $1, the same cost as a ride on the University buses.
Larry Miller, bus driver of route eight, which travels through campus, said that about 60 percent of the people who ride his bus are students.
The bus would stop running at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. Buses would run on 80-minute intervals compared to the current 40 minutes.
Era'me Spearman, Kansas City, Kan., senior, said she depends on "The T" to go to work during the summer and said her schedule would have to change drastically to accommodate any changes.
- Results from Tuesday night's city commission meeting
said. "I would have to get ready earlier, and leave my house earlier and I just wouldn't want to do that."
KANSAN.COM
"I don't want to sit there and wait at the bus stop for long to catch another bus to go to work." Spearman
May Davis, transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels, said it was too soon to tell if the possible budget cuts would affect the talks about closer cooperation between University and Lawrence buses.
According to the city budget calender, the city commission will release "The T's" budget for next fiscal year by the end of this summer.
Galante said that although the budget deficit would not affect the efforts of the two transit systems to cooperate it might affect the services they can provide together.
—Edited by Ben Smith
》 LIBRARIES
The Watson Signage Working Group is undertaking the task of updating and improving directional and informational signs in Watson Library. The committee is surveying library users until Friday for recommendations on how to make signs in the building more useful.
Group works for better signs
By Maggie VanBuskirk
mvanbuskirk@kansan.com
Rebecca Smith, director of public relations and advancement for KU libraries, said the new library signage is part of a broader service quality initiative that focuses on increasing staff training and expanding services.
"The goal is to provide top quality customer service," Smith said. "We
want to ensure the directional and informational signs are useful for students, faculty and staff and are as easy to use as possible."
The signage committee will use information gathered from surveys to create a proposal to present to Lorraine J. Haricombe, dean of KU libraries. Components of the proposal will be implemented this fall as recommendations
"We want to ensure the directional and informational signs are useful for students, faculty and staff and are as easy to use as possible."
REBECCA SMITH Director of Public Relations, KU Libraries
updates will occur throughout the 2007 school year and students welcome the improvement.
Jimmy Haver, Tulsa, Okla., senior
and funding are approved.
Sarah Couch, KU libraries service policy coordinator and head of the signage committee said she hopes to have new directory signs in Watson by the beginning of Hawk week in August.
Further improvements involve restrooms, payphones, workstations, stacks and collection signs. These
said he has trouble finding certain things in the library stacks.
"It will be beneficial for people who are unfamiliar with the library," he said.
Despite slower University traffic in the summer, Couch said there
are still many students, faculty and visitors on campus who can provide feedback.
Summer survey responses may be used for temporary, paper-based replacement signs in the fall. The larger student population can then provide input on the signs.
Edited by Ben Smith