PRINCETON: TigerTransit system makes campus cuts

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
   PRINCETON — Four months after Princeton University rolled out its new and improved campus transportation system, called TigerTransit, the school has cut services by reducing the amount of buses on the road and eliminating some weekend lines, citing financial reasons.
   Since April 11, students have been without the use of the Saturday Shopper and Saturday Campus Connection lines, which were eliminated as a part of the university’s focus on cutting costs during the continued economic downturn. The Saturday Shopper provided access to shopping on Route 1, and the Saturday Campus Connection provided transportation to a variety of campus destinations.
   Also, shuttle frequency during nonpeak hours between 5 and 7 a.m. and after 6 p.m., has been reduced on weekday lines, which consist of five regular routes along with some limited express and commuter lines at certain times of the day.
   Like the rest of the university, parking and transportation personnel have to operate with the university’s budgetary goals in mind, said Kim Jackson, the university’s director of transportation and parking.
   ”TigerTransit services had to be scaled back in order to ensure that we were able to remain within our budget for the year,” Ms. Jackson said.
   Those goals include realizing around $170 million in savings over the next two years and preserving the school’s academic program as the school deals with budget shortfalls and reduced endowment revenue.
   Princeton University’s endowment is expected to shrink from $16.3 billion from June 30, 2008, to around $11.4 billion at the end of June this year, a drop of 30 percent.
   Princeton students and other members of the university community still have access to an on-demand shuttle seven days a week, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., which allows students to get to on-campus locations or back and forth from the Princeton Junction train station by making a phone call.
   Originally, the school had proposed cutting on-demand TigerTransit services to 2 a.m.
   Ms. Jackson did leave open the possibility of reinstating some of the services that were eliminated at a future date, especially if modifications to the remaining services result in additional savings.
   Ms. Jackson said students and others looking to get to the MarketFair and Windsor Green shopping centers during the workweek still can do so on the West Line.
   Also, NJ Transit buses provide access to those Route 1 shopping destinations on the weekends in absence of the now-eliminated Saturday Shopper and Saturday Campus Connection lines.
   Other good news for TigerTransit includes the introduction of a permanent fleet of buses in the fall of 2009.
   The new fleet will feature low-floor buses that run on bio-diesel fuel and are equipped with bicycle racks, Ms. Jackson said.
   The TigerTransit system replaced the older P-Rides system of shuttles in January.
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