BruinGO! is valuable resource for students at UCLA

Kolozsvari is the Graduate Student Association’s appointee
for the Transportation Services Advisory Board. He is a second-year
M.A. student in urban planning whose focus is transportation
policy.

By Douglas Kolozsvari

BruinGO! is an innovative program that benefits thousands of
UCLA students, staff and faculty by providing free rides on any
Santa Monica Big Blue Bus when they swipe their ID cards through
the fare-box. It gives valuable financial aid to students and
serves as a fringe benefit for UCLA employees.

BruinGo! gives UCLA bragging rights to an environmentally sound,
socially equitable transportation program. It has brought many
people together in support of the program while also dispelling
negative stereotypes about the bus.

BruinGO! even helps people who drive to UCLA by freeing up
parking spaces that would have been occupied by those who ride the
bus.

Since BruinGO! began, many first-time bus riders have been
surprised at how well the bus works for them. It has changed many
people’s perceptions that the bus is only for those who
don’t have cars. The frequent bus service, with its broad
network stretching from downtown to the beach, and from LAX to the
Getty, has enabled many people to travel car free in Los
Angeles.

Any veteran Blue Bus rider can tell you that ridership has
increased substantially since the fare-free program went into
effect fall quarter. The increased ridership was so dramatic that
the Blue Bus recently added more service to UCLA-bound routes.

Despite its many benefits and obvious success in attracting more
riders, BruinGO! almost disappeared as quickly as it began. When
Transportation Services expressed doubts about the likelihood of
continuing BruinGO! next year, this caused a flood of public
support for the program.

An informal e-mail survey generated over 1,700 messages of
support for BruinGO! Some of these e-mail responses were brief,
while others were well-constructed essays on UCLA’s
transportation woes (excerpts from these e-mails are posted at
www.sppsr.ucla.edu/its/bruingo). These responses provide an
excellent overview of how people get to and around UCLA, and the
values that affect their transportation choices.

Many respondents stated that they own a car, but voluntarily opt
to take public transit. Most choose to take the Blue Bus to save
money on gas and parking, but some people do it to avoid the stress
and hassle of driving, for environmental reasons, and even so they
can study during their trips to and from campus. Many people also
mentioned that the bus is faster and more convenient for them.

Some employees mentioned that the Blue Bus is faster than the
campus shuttle when they need to make trips for university
business. I decided to see whether there was any difference, so I
timed the trip by both bus and shuttle from Murphy Hall to
UCLA’s offices in the Wilshire Center. I found that the Blue
Bus saved me 28 minutes on the round trip.

More importantly, it saved UCLA money each way because the bus
is cheaper than the shuttle. This could also save students money
and stress related to finding parking in Westwood Village if they
want to get lunch or dinner. Also, it preserves more parking spaces
for non-university business in Westwood Village, attracting people
formerly lost to areas with more available parking.

Some respondents said that they do not use the program because
the Blue Bus does not serve their current location, but they added
that they would use the program if the program were extended to MTA
or Culver City bus lines. Other students stated that they would
choose next year’s housing adjacent to a Blue Bus line so
that they could take advantage of its service.

With so many voices espousing the many benefits of BruinGO!, it
was very difficult for the university to deny the program a
thorough evaluation.

Not only did Transportation Services agree to continue the
program for the next academic year, but they also conceded that the
parking waiting list, to which anyone can easily add their name,
will not be the sole measure of success for the program.

UCLA should conduct a rigorous evaluation of the program ““
and if the e-mail responses are any indication, UCLA should begin
to embrace the program. UCLA needs to think about the future,
because if the proposed IM field parking structure is built, UCLA
will have reached its allowed limit for on-campus parking. Those
1,500 spaces, at $29,000 each, will not satisfy all 3,000 people on
the wait list right now.

More importantly, the $44 million investment in parking will not
satisfy the 4,000 additional students UCLA wants to enroll by 2010.
The structure will house some people’s cars, but at a cost of
raising everybody else’s parking fees to subsidize the new
spaces. In fact, the increase in parking permit fees last year was
done to help pay for the new structure in the event it is
approved.

BruinGO! does not require such an enormous financial investment.
It may even receive funding assistance from sources outside of
UCLA. It provides benefits to both those who cannot afford to drive
and to those who need a parking space on campus. It provides
regional benefits by reducing congestion and air pollution. The
program also helps attract and retain new employees and students
““ especially those who cannot afford to drive.

Finally, UCLA’s BruinGO! program has changed the
stereotype of a bus rider. We are well-educated, environmentally
and socially conscious, and have the ability to recognize a wise
financial move when we see it. We are also a vocal population who
wants to see the program continued and extended to other bus
lines.

Join us on the bus, and let UCLA know what you think of the
program by e-mailing [email protected] and [email protected]. UCLA is
“where bright futures begin,” and now BruinGO! makes
the road there so much easier from the start ““ simply by
making the journey free.