antexp

Dear Students,

It has come to our attention that concerns have been raised regarding the Bus Love Initiative Board Funding Decisions. A circulated Facebook post states that the decisions that been made by the board. We believe some of the information presented is inaccurate and lacking context. We, the board, aim to be as transparent as possible, and we will post complete detailed decisions after voting has concluded. We currently have only voted on the Newport Route that was established last year.

Regarding other circulated information:

  • Yes, the board has decided to impose a fee on the Newport Route to match the cost of Parkwest. The fee for Parkwest is currently $85. There have been talks that it will increase next year; however, the 90-dollar figure is an estimate. We decided to charge for the Newport Route and not subsidize Parkwest, because it is written within our bylaws and the original ballot language that we cannot fund routes that are contractually mandated by the university. Since University Extension owns the route, it is out of our power to subsidize the fee. With that, we concluded that charging a fee for all off campus routes (Newport and Parkwest) and keeping all on campus routes (ACC, Main Campus, AV, VDC, VDCN, and CDS) free is a fair funding model that best serves student needs.
  • The Newport Route is not the only item the Bus Love Board has been discussing for the past quarter. After looking over the student survey results, the board has come up with a few additional services that will be voted on during finals week.
  • These services include
  • Americans with Disabilities Act complaint shuttle stop improvements
  • A third main campus route to alleviate overcrowding
  • Sustaining Ring Road Rides in partnership with the Disabilities Services Center
  • Bus Efficiency: Shift times of PM overflow to better meet the student demand
  • An Irvine Spectrum Route (that will double as a weekend shuttle)

The board dedicated two of its meetings to look over the student survey results, to come up with the best possible plan that will satisfy both student needs and the create a sustainable future for Anteater Express. Though we cannot please everyone, we have tried our best to come up with services that address most of the student concerns.

Lastly, addressing the composition on the board, the composition of the Board is as follows:

Staff Members:
Anteater Express Director
ASUCI Director
Administrative Business Representative
Disability Services Center Director

Total: 4

Student Members:
2 Representatives appointed by the ASUCI Administrative VP
ASUCI Administrative VP
1 Anteater Express Student Driver
1 ACC Student Representative
1 Legislative Council Member

Total: 6

We invite your feedback and comments and encourage all students to fill out surveys regarding the Bus Love Initiative to allow the board to meet the needs of all students. The board will be meeting next wednesday June 11, 2014 at 2pm in the ASUCI Conference room to finalize our decisions for this year. If you would like to come and speak, we will be open for questions for the first hour of the meeting. Please send all comments and questions to administrativevp@asuci.uci.edu.

Warmly,

Agnes Leung
2013-14 Bus Love Initiative Funding Board Chair