Daily Evergreen OpEd 3/1/07
Nils Peterson
Commuter bus is vital to Pullman-Moscow area
Cancelling the Wheatland Express commuter bus service would hurt both
WSU and University of Idaho students and faculty.
The Daily Evergreen
The survival of the Wheatland Express commuter bus is in question
after University of Idaho announced it would no longer contribute its
half of a yearly contribution that funds the bus.
Since the commuter began in 1992, Wheatland Express has provided a way
for faculty and students from each school to easily access to the
other. The schools split a $200,000 yearly contract. UI uses auxiliary
fees to furnish its $100,000 yearly cost. WSU pays with money from
Parking and Transportation Services. The bus has allowed for students
cross-enrolled in between UI and WSU easy access to both sites. Free
transportation is key to building these cross-course programs. Several
majors only exist on one campus. This semester, both schools have
close to 150 students enrolled in these programs. If the bus were cut,
it would make it impossible for many of these students to continue
studying. Several UI administrators have expressed remorse at seeing
the loss. Lloyd Mues, UI vice president of Finance and Administration,
said he was committed to finding a solution for students, saying that
losing the service would have a negative effect on the school. But the
university has yet to provide any plans to find the money. ASUI has
introduced a plan to raise students' semester tuition transportation
costs from $3 to $6. This would cover just more than half the amount
needed to keep the Wheatland Express commuter running. This is where
the solution could have to come from. A $3 fee is hardly a blip on the
radar when it comes to tuition fees. Even raising the fee to $9 to
cover the whole cost would not require much financial sacrifice on the
part of UI students. WSU students pay a mandatory $15 fee for Pullman
Transit service.
WSU also must consider increasing the percentage it pays for the
commuter service. WSU students and faculty make up 62 percent of
riders, a National Institute Advanced Transportation Technology survey
found. WSU faculty members riding the bus to and from work make up the
largest percentage of users. By agreeing to increase funding for
several years, WSU could salvage the link until UI can find a way to
make up the difference. The Wheatland Express commuter bus offers a
way for the two universities to continue collaborating and connecting
in order to boost the quality of education their students receive.