Due to budget cuts, the City College daytime student shuttle stopped running on Sept 3. The shuttle transported students to campus that had parked their vehicles in Balboa Park.
For the first two weeks of the semester, the shuttle did run from 7 a.m.. to 1 p.m. because the $1,250 needed per week to have the service was sponsored by the administrative services department. The department’s vice president, Jerry Davis said he “wanted the shuttle to run the first two weeks of school” to give students time to plan accordingly.
“Otherwise there would not have been a shuttle since the beginning of the semester,” Davis said. The shuttle service was previously paid by the San Diego Community College District office.
In an effort to resume the shuttle service in the spring semester of 2010, Debra D. Picou, San Diego Community College Police Department Supervisor, submitted a petition to the district office requesting that they increase the student parking permit fee by $5. The additional money will cover the costs of the shuttle service.
Students that use the shuttle service are upset that it was stopped without first exploring other alternatives, like charging a small fee to cover the costs.
“They can offset the price by having a semester shuttle pass but they didn’t give us any options…they just stopped it cold,” said Mike Spencer, a business major. “I would have paid a fee in order to continue the service. It’s not a far walk, but I have a lot of books to carry and I don’t wanna walk to my car.”
Wendy Graves, also a business major, said she is not happy either about the shuttle service stopping. She noted that there’s always parking up by Balboa Park and police are always present looking out after the cars.
“I am bummed out, the shuttle is a good convenience. I am tired after class and I don’t want to walk up the hill to get to my car and since there is no parking closer to the school I have to park up there,” she said.
Graves added that she would have also paid a small fee for a semester shuttle pass.
For safety reasons, the evening shuttle service will continue to operate between the hours of 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For Fridays, students will be able to park for free in the Balboa Stadium Lot, which is behind San Diego High School. On other days, a parking permit will be required.
