Transportation to Clark City Center raises concerns

Jeffrey Pittman, Staff Writer

The Utica College Clark City Center is an educational business center that was created to fuse the expanding college with a downtown aura. Throughout the semester, students and faculty have been adapting to this change and some issues, as expected, have popped up.

Most recently, transportation issues have been of concern.

According to members of the Utica College faculty, the second shuttle bus is no longer in use due to the lack of students who actually use it.

“It was my decision to eliminate the second shuttle after 1 p.m.,” said Rick Fenner, Interim Dean of the School of Business and Justice Studies. “This is to ensure that students will arrive at both the main campus and Clark City Center in time for them to make their classes.

Fenner explained that this decision was not just a random act.

The second shuttle bus had been recorded to only hold a handful of students prior to 1 p.m. classes. Since not many students rode the second bus, it was becoming both unnecessary and costly to run the shuttle without proper usage, according to Fenner.

“Yes, it is slightly less convenient, but I also weighed this against the nearly $1,000 per week saving from discontinuing the second shuttle,” Fenner said.

The school is hopeful that the small issues, like the shuttle bus schedule, will eventually work themselves out

Dean of Students, Robert Perkins, believes the bus schedule is being taken care of.

“The number of buses required may vary each term based upon enrollment in the classes at the Clark City Center,” Perkins said.

Administration will change the shuttle schedule based on how many students use the transportation at specific times. For example, if students aren’t using the bus at a particular time – like 1 p.m. – then the school will opt to cut the service.

With all this said, there are still some students who rely on the bus, whether it’s the shuttle prior to 1 p.m. or after.

“Unless I have a friend who can bring me to class, I need the bus to bring me to classes,” Patrick Claffey said. “I understand that the shuttle after 1 p.m. might not be as full, but there are still the few kids that actually need it after one.”