Cat-Tran drivers started passing by students because of a reiteration of the rules this week.
These regulations, found in University and state policies, are in place for the purposes of safety and timeliness, according to Don Taylor, administrative support associate. Cat-Tran drivers will no longer stop to pick up students who are not standing at a Cat-Tran stop. Also, drivers will only drop students off at official Cat-Tran stops.
“The primary purpose of this is safety,” Taylor said. “This has always been policy. While individual drivers attempting to be polite or accommodating may have stopped whenever or wherever a student hailed them, this constituted as a safety issue. Management has reminded its employees of their obligations to follow safety policies regarding this.
“Roads running through our campus,” Taylor continued, “are not private roads. They are state roads as well, and we have an obligation to follow basic rules of the road that affect all drivers as well as those charged with the safety of 15-22 passengers at a time.”
Taylor also spoke about the issue of timeliness. He said that unexpected delays to pick up students not at official stops caused problems meeting the “every 15 minutes” promise by the Cat-Tran service.
“When we unnecessarily deviate from this, our community is inconvenienced and not receiving the service they expect,” Taylor continued.
Campus is currently lacking efficient signs that advertise where Cat-Tran stops exist. However, Taylor said that will soon change.
“Cat-Tran is in the process of purchasing new signage to make stops more visible to the community, and we expect the project to be completed by the fall semester,” said Taylor.
Students should be aware of the following regulations and policies, as described by Taylor, before their next Cat-Tran ride:
1. Riders should place themselves at the shuttle stop when choosing to ride. Drivers will not stop between designated shuttle stops.
2. For safety purposes drivers will load and unload only at approved stops.
3. Special transportation accommodations are reserved for those registered as such with the Office of Disabilities.
4. As drivers of vehicles, please be aware that you may not block or impede traffic or shuttle flow into shuttle pick-up points. This particularly applies at the Natural Science curb area and University Center loading zones.