Desmond Lim, a junior transfer student in the School of International Service, frequently finds himself on campus after 8:30 p.m. He likes to study in Bender Library, since his AU-sponsored housing at the Holiday Inn Georgetown is dimly lit and doesn't include a desk.
| Life at the Holiday InnELENA ISELLA / THE EAGLE |
When Lim is done studying for the night, he usually walks for 30 to 40 minutes back to the hotel, which is located in the 2100 block of Wisconsin Avenue. The hotel-sponsored shuttle service stops running at 8:30 p.m. Lim said it takes too long to use the "30's" Metrobus routes and that it costs too much to hail a cab.
"The first few days of class, I tried to catch the last shuttle, but I soon realized there was no use," he said. "I have never taken a shuttle back to the hotel at night. Anytime after 8:30, you have to find your own way home."
AU Housing and Dining Programs contracted with the Holiday Inn to house dozens of AU students for the fall semester because of the high demand for on-campus housing, The Eagle previously reported.
Currently, 54 students live in the hotel, according to Community Coordinator Aaron Long. Long works for Housing and Dining and his duties are part resident assistant and part resident director for the AU students living at the Holiday Inn.
The Holiday Inn shuttle service runs Mondays through Fridays between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. every half hour, and once again at 5 p.m. every half hour. The last shuttle leaves campus at 8:30 p.m. and usually arrives at the Holiday Inn by 9 p.m., according to Housing and Dining Executive Director Chris Moody. In the middle of the day, the shuttles operate on demand for AU students and are shared with other hotel guests. It picks students up in the Nebraska parking lot when it is on demand.
"The total transportation hours available to students are between 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.," he said in an e-mail.
Lim said he and other residents there did not expect to have limited shuttle hours.
"I thought there would be a dedicated shuttle for AU at all times," he said.
Moody said Housing and Dining made it clear to residents that such an arrangement would not exist.
"In our communication with residents this summer, we explained that there would be a limited 'on call' shuttle service to and from AU's campus," he said in the e-mail.
Increasing shuttle service would be cost prohibitive, Moody said.
"The final room rate negotiated with the hotel included nine hours of shuttle service during peak travel hours to and from main campus," he said in an e-mail. "To increase the shuttle service hours, the nightly room rate at the hotel would have been even more expensive and AU would not have been able to offer this close location as an option due to the high expense."
Moody said a third-party company, not AU or the Holiday Inn, runs the shuttle service.
Lim said he and other residents believe AU should run the shuttle service.
Long said some of his residents have come to him with concerns.
"The shuttle logistics account for most of the complaints that I receive," he said in an e-mail. "I have heard about it off and on since the beginning of the semester."
The Holiday Inn arrangement has worked out overall, Long said.
"I would say that quality of life here is good," he said in an e-mail. "It's a thriving community."
Lim said he hopes to move on campus next semester.
"Nothing bites like having an 8:30 [a.m.] class and not being able to wake up 15 minutes before," he said.
You can reach this staff writer at eklapper@theeagleonline.com.
