PHOTO: UHCL's two new shuttles parked outside at UHCL's Lighting of the Letters. PHOTO by The Signal reporter Paloma Palacios. — UHCL's two new shuttles parked outside at UHCL's Lighting of the Letters. Photo by The Signal reporter Paloma Palacios.

UHCL acquires two new shuttles

By Paloma Palacios On Dec 9, 2019 307 0

PHOTO: UHCL's new Ford shuttle for off-campus routes. Photo by The Signal reporter Paloma Palacios. — UHCL’s new Ford shuttle for off-campus routes will replace the old shuttle. Photo by The Signal reporter Paloma Palacios.

After a summer of shuttle repairs, route changes and service cancelations, the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) has acquired two new shuttles.

“The UHCL student body is growing in both numbers and needs,” said David Rachita, dean of students. “Thus, services must evolve as well. Campus shuttle offerings is just one of these areas that will help keep UHCL moving forward.”

As discussed by students in The Signal’s June 27 article, shuttle services are used by students, including international students, living on and off-campus, as many do not have transportation of their own. The shuttle service is what transports them around campus and takes them to and from campus, including weekly grocery trips.

“Most of the international students prefer staying [in] off-campus housing because they are budget-friendly compared to on-campus housing,” said Shobana Jayapalan, biotechnology graduate. “This makes us rely completely on the shuttle service for transportation.”

Throughout the past year, the shuttle service has been temporarily suspended numerous times because of shuttle repairs, breakdowns, flooding and inclement weather, requiring students to use UHCL’s alternative vehicles, walk or pay for an Uber or Lyft.

Rachita said UHCL’s two new shuttles will benefit students in multiple ways.

“When feasible, more options are always better,” Rachita said. “With additional shuttles, students should have more access to a variety of route schedules making it more convenient in regards to their personal schedules.”

Jayapalan agrees that offering more shuttles or shuttle options will benefit students, especially international students.

“We work on campus in different positions and we spend most of the time in school,” Jayapalan said. “With that being said, we are totally not aware of the climatic conditions outside. Especially [when we] want to head back home in the evenings. There were days where most of us will have to get down at UFA [University Forest Apartments] (which would be the last stop) and run back home in heavy rain or freezing cold. We were completely drenched before going home even though we had umbrellas. I had friends of mine heading back to school in the same shuttle since they did [not] have umbrellas or jackets to protect themselves from cold.”

Shuttle breakdowns have also caused delays for students.

“Even today, I was planning to board on to the shuttle at Ace Hardware at 8:10 a.m.,” Jayapalan said. “But when I reached there, I found that the shuttle was broken down with fumes coming out and all the students, including the shuttle driver, were standing outside the shuttle waiting for the parking department to come and fix the issue and bring an alternative shuttle. For which we waited until 8:35 a.m. and then came to school around 8:50 a.m. But most us had on-campus jobs with check-in time of 8:30 a.m. This created an issue with the normal functioning of each and every one of our day.”

UHCL will be hiring new drivers to staff the new shuttles.

“We will hire additional student drivers as needed for the new routes,” said Harry Glass, manager of the parking and transportation department.

Votes to choose a wrap for its new shuttles were cast Nov. 11 and UHCL unveiled the winning wrap Dec. 4 at the Annual Lighting of the Letters. Design three, “Hunter Hawk,” was the winning wrap for UHCL’s new shuttles.

“The artists who designed the wraps are employees of the Marketing and Communications department at UHCL,” Glass said.

Glass said the new Ford shuttle, capable of accommodating 12 passengers and two wheelchairs, will replace the old shuttle and follow its off-campus route while the new electric shuttle, able to accommodate nine people and one wheelchair, will serve on-campus locations.

PHOTO: UHCL's new electric shuttle displays its leather seated interior and extended ramp. Photo by The Signal reporter Paloma Palacios. — UHCL’s new electric shuttle displays its leather seated interior and extended ramp. It will serve on-campus locations and run at 15-minute intervals. Photo by The Signal reporter Paloma Palacios.

“The new electric shuttle cart will be limited to an on-campus route utilizing existing stops,” Glass said. “This route will be in addition to the current off-campus shuttle schedule, enabling one of the shuttles to be picking up on campus at 15-minute intervals. However, we are currently looking at peak times of classes in each building to determine the exact schedules.”

Additionally, the old shuttle will substitute either vehicle should they require repairs.

“Plans to expand UHCL’s shuttle fleet are being considered,” Glass said.