Will BruinGo!?

Come next year, BruinGo!, the bus program that offers UCLA
students free rides on the Big Blue Bus, will not be around if a
new funding proposal is not approved ““ and even then it
may no longer be free.

The pilot program is projected to cost $1.3 million next year
and UCLA Transportation Services is proposing to subsidize $826,000
of that with parking fees. The rest of the money would come from
requiring students to pay 25 cents per ride.

Currently, the entire program is subsidized by the
Transportation Services from parking fees and reserve funds.

If the proposed plan is not approved and an alternative plan is
not put forth, the BruinGo! program will not have funding for the
next year.

Transportation Services plans to cover some of the expenses by
implementing cost-saving measures. Already the department has
consolidated the Campus Express route, eliminated some student
permits, increased daily parking passes, and restructured the new
parking debt to a 30-year term.

Transportation Services is also looking to up parking citation
fines by $2 in order to increase revenue. Replacing the Lot 32
kiosk with a self-service pay booth and reducing the Vanpool
program subsidy are also being considered.

Additionally, the department is looking to reduce
BruinGo’s program cost by eliminating weekend and holiday
subsidy since these times do not have as high a demand.

Renee Fortier, Associate Director of Transportation Services,
said the department is looking for a way to continue the popular
program without impacting registration fees or raising parking
fees.

But Fortier also noted that other UC campuses use transportation
programs similar to BruinGo!, and a majority of them are subsidized
by student fees. On the other hand, during a time when students are
already expecting a fee hike, Fortier said it is not a good time to
propose another increase.

David Dahle, the Undergraduate Students Association Council
president, said the proposal is cumbersome for students and that
another alternative should be explored.

“We should keep the program as free for students as
possible,” Dahle said.

Fortier said the Vanpool and similar programs require user
co-pays, so a 25 cent fee for BruinGo! is not unreasonable.

“I hope students put it in the context of all programs
working together,” Fortier said.

Transportation Services will present their proposal to USAC, the
Graduate Students Association, and Academic Senate to get their
input.

Fortier said a letter will be sent to the campus community
sometime in March or April to inform people of future BruinGo!
plans, and to allow one month for community response. Once
everything is taken into account, the final proposal will be
presented to the chancellor, who must give the final approval.

Transportation Services came up with the proposal as a response
to an independent study conducted by Crain and Associates last
April which suggested they terminate the program unless
“others are willing to pay for their fair share.”

The study concluded that only 225 parking spaces or roughly
$300,000 per year are saved under the BruinGo! program. The study
also said the program does not fully alleviate parking problems
because many of the people who would benefit live too far away from
a Big Blue Bus stop.

Originally created to reduce the number of parking spaces
demanded on campus, the focus of BruinGo! has now shifted to
concentrate on reducing the number of trips made by vehicles to
UCLA per day.

Under the Traffic Mitigation Monitoring Agreement between UCLA
and the City of Los Angeles, there is a cap of 139,500 vehicle
trips to campus allowed per day. Currently 123,897 trips are made
to campus per day, but Transportation Services must remain under
the cap until 2011.

Transportation Services has estimated 1,188 trips per day are
reduced by BruinGo!, a fact that looks to be more beneficial than
the amount of parking spaces saved.