About three weeks after most Global Positioning System machines were installed on the campus, officials are still working to make the system fully functional so students can track the location of Shuttle-UM buses.
Thirty-five GPS machines were installed at stops on and off the campus, displaying Shuttle-UM estimated arrival times to riders, Director of Transportation Services David Allen said. But because the signal for the GPS comes from Virginia, about five or six stops - including stops at Lot HH and outside the Regents Drive Parking Garage - could not receive the signal and are considered "dead spots," Allen said.
"The company that we bought it from said it would work, but they made a miscalculation," Allen said. "It's their responsibility to make it work."
Allen said to fix the problem, a signal relay will be installed atop the Regents Drive Parking Garage to bolster the signal to all the stops on the campus.
A website, phone number and a flat-screen plasma TV in the Stamp Student Union have been set up to inform students of the new system, Allen said. But most students interviewed were unaware the GPS was available.
"We have one?" asked Gail Baltazar, a sophomore journalism major. "I never knew we had those. I didn't notice."
Allen said students will be informed on a wider scale once the department knows the system is more comprehensive and fully functional. But of the students who did know about the system, some complained of not being able to work the machines, which are red boxes attached to poles that feature buttons students can push to show what time the next bus will arrive on their route.
"It's hard to press the buttons," said Lydia Melton, a sophomore government and dance double major, who said she rides the shuttle about 10 to 15 times a week. "Or it says to refer to the time table, so it kind of screws you over."
Once all of the machines are working, Allen said DOTS would begin a "media blitz," which will include a full-page advertisement in The Diamondback and distribute wallet-sized cards to residents that show major stops, bus numbers and the phone number students may call for an update on the location. Fliers will also be posted and DOTS officials will be posted at bus stops to show students how to use the machines.
Although department officials are waiting until next semester to officially evaluate student reactions to the systems, Allen said he is personally pleased with the system so far.
"If it's a cold day, it's nice to look at the screen [in the union] instead of waiting outside," Allen said.
Even though senior history major Emily Doland said she was not aware of the GPS system, she said she liked the idea.
"I would use anything that can help to reduce the wait time," Doland said. "Especially for women, it's not that safe to be waiting in the dark."
Justin Bonny, a junior psychology major, said he uses the shuttle about 14 times a week from his University Courtyard apartment.
"I like being able to see where the bus is from my room instead of waiting outside in the cold or rain," Bonny said. "I wish it had been worked out sooner."
Contact reporter Kaitlyn Seith at seithdbk@gmail.com.
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