The KU Shuttle Bus Service may have a different company that will provide the shuttles for campus next year.
Anne K. Reel, the Associate Director of Parking, Transportation and Public Safety, said that “nothing has been determined at this point.”
Kutztown University is in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, in which different companies can bid on a five year contract with the University to provide a shuttle service to our campus. A group will review the RFPs that are submitted and make recommendations regarding the selection of the bus company. All of this will begin in January 2014.
A Request for Proposal is a solicitation made through a bidding process where potential suppliers submit business proposals. Seeing the suppliers’ business proposals allows for an adequate decision to be made and the risks and benefits to be clearly identified up front.
The university takes a specific and thorough approach when looking at RFPs. They look at schedules, routes and the number of buses providing the services that would be beneficial to our campus each year. They then determine whether any changes need to be made or not.
Reel also said that they will be conducting a survey of Kutztown students to “assess their satisfaction with the current shuttle service and seek out any comments they have about it.”
Kutztown will take all of these comments into consideration when picking a new company to provide the shuttles for campus. Although the shuttle service may change next year, the transportation fees will stay the same.
Some concerns were voiced by students at a recent Student Government Board meeting about the shuttle bus. One of those concerns was about the online tracker and the tracker in MSU on the TVs and getting it to work properly again. Some students also voiced their opinions that the buses should run later at night on Monday through Thursday, but they wouldn’t want the fees to increase.
Students on campus have many different views on the KU Shuttle Bus Service.
Ashley Humma, a freshmen, and Middle Level Education major, said that it would be a inconvenience if the hours were to be decreased when the new shuttle service comes to Kutztown next year.
“I use the shuttle to go to classes and to the Weis grocery store,” said Humma.
Two freshmen, Kayla Mellinger, undeclared and Brandon Bartolotta, an Electronic Media major, said that if the shuttle bus service company changes next year, it would not really have an effect on the both of them. They both have ridden the shuttle a couple of times during their freshmen year.

By Samantha Biastre