The new University shuttles are the product of a partnership between Groome Transportation and the University. Brad Leigh, executive director for Business Operations, said the University made the switch because the cost of maintaining the old shuttles was increasing every year.

“We saw last year that this was going to be a really expensive year,” Leigh said in a phone conversation.

The transition to Groome happened over the summer on July 1, 2018.

With the new partnership, costs of the new shuttles — such as the shuttle drivers’ salaries and replacing the old shuttles — are paid for by Groome. In return for Groome’s services, the University pays an annual flat rate of $690,000.

[[inline_image_identifier c0b5fcdbf2571aea4b60c70fe28e984f.jpg]]

Had the partnership not been made, the cost for shuttle services this academic year would have been $250,000 more for the University. Leigh said over the five-year term of contract with Groome, the University plans to save more than $1 million in costs. Those costs would have otherwise gone to students, in the long-run.

Leigh also said six of the previous shuttle drivers decided to retire and two decided to resign rather than transfer to Groome.

Groome originally required its drivers to be 25 or older but reduced this age limit to 21 to accommodate former student drivers and to assist in recruiting future student drivers, Leigh said.

Four out of five students who were shuttle drivers in previous years were able to continue as shuttle drivers after the Groome partnership. The one student who was too young to continue as a shuttle driver is still employed by Groome and will reassume driving a shuttle when he/she turns 21 in December, Leigh said.

Additionally, the former Shuttle Manager, Aileen Berry, was retained by Groome and is the current operations manager.

The new shuttles are slightly smaller than the old ones, with 24 passenger seats on four shuttles and 30 passenger seats on two shuttles. Also, the previous shuttles ran on diesel.

“The ridership data indicated we needed to modify the shuttle fleet. The new vehicles are smaller, using less fuel and run on propane which burns much cleaner and is better for the environment,” Leigh wrote in an email.

“At the end of the day, this is a student service,” Mike Campbell, director of public safety and chief of the University police, said.

Campbell said trying to maintain the old shuttles was no longer cost-effective. Groome is assisting the University in selling the old shuttles, and the shuttles may ultimately be sold on govdeals.com — an auction site for government entities.

Before the transfer, shuttle drivers were already required to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License with a Passenger Endorsement, but Groome has implemented a few more certifications for their drivers. Campbell said, the company requires their drivers to pass a physical agility test in addition to their driver physical.

Groome requires its drivers to obtain a Department of Transportation Certification, which is valid for up to 24 months, Leigh said.

Campbell said Groome will conduct a quarterly review in late October to see what the first few months have been like. The data collected by the review will be used to determine new changes to the shuttle schedule and routes.