Cleveland Area Rapid Transit is experiencing an increase in ridership on the Lloyd Noble Shuttle route, said Kris Glenn, OU Parking and Transit Services spokesman.
“CART drivers conduct surveys the first week of OU classes each year to determine ridership statistics,” Glenn said.
Glenn said the Lloyd Noble Shuttle route saw a 10-percent increase in the number of students riding the bus in the first week of school, or an average of 352 more riders each day on the shuttle. Glenn said the new riders bring the number of daily riders on the Lloyd Noble Shuttle to nearly 4,000 riders.
Even with the increase, Glenn said CART will not be adding more buses to the Lloyd Noble route.
“CART has been able to accommodate the increase in riders very efficiently, by utilizing the same number of vehicles on the route,” Glenn said.
Glenn said the new riders are mostly students, instead of non-student Norman residents.
CART ridership has increased because of the limited parking spots on campus, Glenn said, and at least one student agrees.
“My friends and I take the bus because we can’t find a parking space that is close,” said Jenny Fehring, psychology senior and Lloyd Noble Shuttle rider.
Fehring said this is the first year she has taken CART to class.
“I only started riding the bus two weeks ago, and I like it,” Fehring said.
Glenn said he is uncertain about the impact of the number of parking permits being sold since cars that are parked at Lloyd Noble Center do not require a parking permit.
For some students, though, parking on campus is still better than riding the bus.
“CART just doesn’t fit into my schedule,” said Wesley Jackson, journalism sophomore. “I live on the west side of town, and it is just better for me to find a spot by the Duck Pond.”
Jackson said he considered taking CART from his apartment to OU, but did not find the bus does not fit into his schedule.
“I thought about taking CART to school, but the bus that runs anywhere near where I live leaves around 9:04 [a.m.],” he said. “My first class does not start until 10:30.”
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register