Shuttle may signal new era in services

Mercer County transportation official says it could be the model for a Princeton municipal transit system.

By: Jeff Milgram
   Princeton University, in a move to ease traffic congestion and parking problems, launched a new shuttle service Monday between graduate student housing and the main campus.
   A Mercer County transportation official said the service could be the model for a Princeton municipal transit system.
   "That’s the goal, if it’s successful," Sandra Brillhart, executive director of the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, said Monday. "This could be the first leg."
   University officials believe the shuttle service, which uses mini-buses, can help ease problems both on and off campus.
   "By providing reliable bus transportation, we hope that the shuttle will reduce congestion and demand for car parking on campus and in town and be more energy-efficient than students driving their own cars," said Pam Hersh, the university’s director of community and state affairs.
   In a survey conducted this fall, a third of the 1,900 graduate students said they would use the shuttle service, Ms. Brillhart said.
   The shuttle service is dubbed P-Rides and is free to anyone in the university community. It will run every 30 minutes between 8:15 a.m. and 7:45 p.m., Monday through Friday, stopping at the Graduate College, Lawrence Apartments, Hibben-Magie Apartments, Jadwin Physics, the Engineering Quadrangle, parking lot 10 on William Street behind Green Hall, parking lot 21 on FitzRandolph Road by Jadwin Gym and Butler Apartments.
   The service is managed by the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association and operated by A-1 Limousine.
   The new shuttle service will feature Global Positioning System technology developed by Princeton undergraduate students and Professor Alain Kornhauser to provide real-time arrival information via computer.
   Even though the shuttle will have a basic schedule, users with access to the Internet will be able to check from their apartments or library cubicles the location of the bus and gauge exactly when to be at the bus stop.
   "We are looking forward to working with the university to make this shuttle system a huge success for the entire campus community," said Ms. Brillhart. "We anticipate that the first two or three weeks will be a work in progress. But after the initial period, the operation should be a smooth ride."
   The association worked with the university’s graduate students, Office of Community and State Affairs, Office of the Senior Vice President for Administration, Office of Public Safety and Office of the Dean of the Graduate School over a period of several months to come up with a workable system.
   A university spokesman declined to say what the service will cost.
   Students like the idea of the shuttle. "We’re very pleased that Princeton is responding in an environmentally friendly manner to the traffic and parking situations on campus and in town," said Scott Miller, president of the Graduate Student Government. "During the past two years, the university administration has addressed a number of longstanding graduate student issues. The establishment of this shuttle makes a substantial contribution to our quality of life."
   "As a result of having this energy-efficient shuttle system in place, traffic and parking congestion should be reduced both on campus and in town, which has been a challenge in the past for the university," said Michael Starr, president and CEO, A-1 Limousine. "This is just one of the many projects that A-1 Limousine has partnered with the Greater Mercer TMA on in an effort to promote environmentally responsible transportation."
   Route maps and schedules will be available at the bus stops and online. The real-time arrival information will be available as the service is refined.
   The new shuttle will be in addition to the Tiger Tram, the 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. employee shuttle that serves the campus from the parking garage on Elm Drive, the shuttle running from parking lot 21 to Firestone Library on weekday mornings, and the late night student "safety shuttle."
   The shuttle seats 24 people, with room for between eight and 10 standees, said Basil Giletto, national accounts manager for A-1 Limousine, who monitored the first day’s operation.
   He said he grew worried when he found few students at bus stops. Then he realized why. "The students must be using the Global Positioning and leaving their apartments right before the bus comes," Mr. Giletto said.
   "It’s going to be incredible," he said.