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St. Cloud State University
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MTC adds new route
By Cathy Kropp
Published:
Monday, October 27, 2003
Beginning Nov. 3, the MTC will be adding a new South Clipper route, an express southeast route and will refine its West Clipper route to meet the needs of the steadily growing number of riders.
According to the MTC ridership statistics, the number of riders this September, compared to numbers from last September, has risen drastically on all campus Clipper routes. The University route numbers increased by 42 percent, the Southeast Clipper numbers rose by 24 percent and the west clipper numbers rose by 67 percent.
Due to these rising numbers, the MTC has decided to create a new route. It will include some of the same stops as the University route. The MTC hopes that the new South Clipper will help relieve some of the ridership pressure on the University route. The South Clipper will also arrive at better times for classes than the University route, with arrivals at the Miller Learning Resources Center at 10 minutes to the hour and 20 minutes after the hour.
The MTC is also starting a new southeast express service which will serve riders that live along the loop of Michigan Avenue, University Village and 16th Street SE. While the normal southeast bus travels on 15th Avenue SE past Oakwood apartments before hitting the loop, the express will act as a direct connection between the loop and the Miller LRC. The Express will arrive seven minutes earlier than the regular SE bus, and is able to make the trip to campus in a relatively short six minutes.
The Campus Clipper West is also having its route changed slightly. According to the MTC, the West Clipper currently travels on West St. Germain westbound to Waite Park, returning on Maine Prairie Road. Beginning Nov. 3, the bus will no longer travel outbound on West St. Germain, instead it will travel on Maine Prairie Road to Quarry Road to 22nd Street South.
The MTC will be spending an additional $75,000 to implement these changes, all of which will be absorbed by the MTC.
The changes aren't coming soon enough for some students who have noticed overcrowding on the buses.
"I've noticed that the SE Clipper seems to be packed at certain times, especially early in the morning," said senior Katie Scholzen. "My stop is one of the first on the route so I usually have no trouble (boarding), but I have to fight my way off the bus when we arrive at campus because I get off by the Education building and most of the other riders are waiting to get off at the Miller Center."
Senior Erica Dirks sees the addition of the SE Express as a definite improvement.
"I notice a lot of crowding on the SE Clipper in the morning so the express service is a great idea to limit this overcrowding," Dirks said.
Even with the current overcrowding, students seem to be pleased with the free ride service, with many noting parking as their main deterrent from driving to school.
"The free ride service is definitely a good thing," Dirks said. "It is more time consuming to try to find a parking spot, especially with all the parking regulations, than it is to catch the bus and be dropped off right on campus."
The free ride contract between the MTC and the university ends on May 11, and discussions are being tentatively planned for mid-January.
David Tripp, executive director of the St. Cloud MTC, hopes that the university continues the free ride program.
"It is critical to keep the free ride program because the bus system can meet the students' travel needs," Tripp said.
"The university is anxious to get a couple months' ridership figures and continue testing the demand of all of the routes (new and old)," said Steve Ludwig, SCSU vice president of administrative affairs. "We want to wait until January (after break) to continue discussions so that the students can be included."
Both the MTC and the university have been pleasantly surprised by the success of the free ride program.
"The university didn't know what to expect with the program, but it seems to be remarkably successful," Ludwig said. "We are hoping for an upward spiral of even better service and more use."
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