The management of the Yale College Council’s shuttle to Bradley International Airport may be permanently turned over to a private bus company sponsored by the University’s administration if Yale’s current effort to contract a professional busing company is successful.
Recent money losses incurred from running the shuttle over Thanksgiving break, in addition to the large amount of work required to administer the service, motivated the YCC to consider relinquishing control of the shuttle, YCC President Andrew Cedar ’06 said.
“It’s been really hard to make these shuttles work,” Cedar said. “Someone who’s in the business is probably a lot better at running a shuttle than us.”
The University is looking for a shuttle that would carry both faculty and students to Bradley, near Hartford, on a year-round daily basis, YCC Treasurer Andrew Schram ’06 said. Schram said the University is currently in negotiations with a bus company but declined to comment on details of the negotiations. Logistical difficulties have already led the council to forgo running any shuttles over the upcoming winter break, Schram said.
Cedar said the difficulty and time commitment of setting up the shuttle has made it challenging for the YCC to find a successor for YCC Representative Steven Syverud ’06, who has organized the shuttle since its inception last year. Syverud also said he would like to see the shuttle run by professionals.
“Our goal is eventually to make the shuttle a little more institutionalized in order to make sure it runs every single year,” Syverud said.
Syverud said the YCC’s use of different charter bus companies at each break further complicated the organizational process. Institutionalizing the service would preclude the necessity of negotiating with a new company each year, he said.
Although the shuttle issue has been discussed at YCC meetings, the decision to formally broker a deal with a charter bus service will not be made by the entire council, Cedar said. He said Schram will likely have the final word.
Schram said his decision will be based on the results of the current negotiations between the administration and the as-yet-unnamed charter bus company. He said the YCC would be happy to turn over the shuttle service to a charter company, if the company is able to provide the same level of service at the same rates.
“We want to offer it, but if we can’t afford to do it, then we won’t,” Schram said. “If the company can offer the same price, then there really isn’t a problem in letting them do it.”
The YCC will make a decision about the winter break shuttles “fairly soon,” Schram said, but likely will not offer the service. He added that the YCC is more likely to run shuttles for spring break.