Students and Director of Risk Management and Transportation Services Tony Newman discussed problems with the Park Bethesda shuttle operation at a town hall forum Tuesday, specifically referencing an incident on Sunday.
A shuttle traveling from the main campus to Park Bethesda apartments struck on unknown object on Sunday, The Eagle reported. The driver of the Reston Limousine shuttle, which AU hires to work the route, reported that she struck a pothole adjacent to the Washington College of Law, according to Public Safety Sgt. Gary Folckemer. Folckemer added there is no way for them to know if the cause was a pothole.
AU followed up on the driver's poor service on Sunday, Newman said.
Greg Gadren, Park Bethesda's resident manager, said he believes Reston Limo terminated the driver's employment.
"It is my understanding that Reston has fired the driver who was involved in the incident at the law school on Sunday, as well as a few other incidents that day," Gadren said.
Tony Newman, a former University of Maryland shuttle driver, said the quality of Reston Limo's service was below student expectations.
Many students repeated concerns previously expressed at a forum in September about drivers speeding and making incorrect turns, the bus door opening while the bus is in motion, and empty gas tanks.
Jesse Olczak, a Park Bethesda resident, said the service during the summer was "absolutely wretched." He added that the tardiness problems of the shuttle had been solved.
Newman said the most important issue is shuttle safety.
Student Confederation President Polson Kanneth, speaking after the forum, said he is particularly concerned with the driver safety problems, calling it a "big problem."
Newman also said other issues are unacceptable, such as running out of gas and drivers using profanity toward the students. Newman said he wants to make the shuttle operation as "transparent as possible."
Unlike the Tenley-Main Campus route, the Park Bethesda-Main Campus route is contracted to a shuttle service outside of the University. Despite these problems, Newman said Reston Limo and AU have a "mutual need for each other." The Park Bethesda shuttle is not a lucrative route for regional transportation companies, according to Newman.
"The money is just not in this route," Newman said. The shuttle operation costs $660,000 a year, The Eagle previously reported.
AU would have difficulty hiring a new company because of the lack of interest in the route, according to Newman. The University has solicited proposals from transportation companies in the past, but found the offers unacceptable, Newman said.
Reston Limo owner Kristina Bouweiri said she can't provide better drivers and better buses without a long-term contract to provide the money to finance them. AU doesn't want to commit to a long-term contract because of the recent unsatisfactory service, Newman said.
AU recently extended Reston Limo's contract until then end of November, The Eagle previously reported. AU considered students' concerns in making that decision, Newman said.
He informed students that AU is studying long-term options for changing the shuttle operations, including making it a University operation, like the Tenleytown shuttle. Kanneth agreed making the shuttle a University-run operation would mean stricter accountability.
The SC helped to organize the meeting, which a small number of students attended.
Eagle Staff Writer Mary Specht contributed to this report.
