Representatives from the University, Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority and Bgsu Tarta came to the Undergraduate Student Government meeting Monday to discuss TARTA coming to the University. No decisions were made on USG’s part.

TARTA is a business that runs bus routes throughout the Toledo area.

“We were approached by the student group during the summer for an endorsement, and we didn’t really know a lot about it,” said USG president Emily Ancinec at the opening of the meeting.

Ancinec said the purpose of the meeting was so USG could ask questions and figure out their next step.

Brad Leigh, Executive Director of Business Operations at the University, was the first to speak and he spoke for the University.

“Unfortunately, like many of the folks around the room, we’re more here to get answers, we don’t know a lot about this initiative,” Leigh said. “There are more unknown variables for the University than known variables.”

Next to speak was Jim Gee, general manager of TARTA, who briefly outlined what TARTA can provide in terms of service by describing the service it provides at Owens Community College.

“Like BGSU, because Owens Community College is outside of our district, we have a cost per hour associated with that service and we have to recover that cost,” Gee said.

The current cost per hour at Owens is $65 dollars, Gee said, however, he added that the University is a much different campus than Owens.

Gee said that Owens contracts TARTA for a set number of hours per school year, the bus runs during school days only and Owens pays for the service without any student fee, which is unusual.

The cost for TARTA contract service is determined by labor and wages, not by miles, Gee said. He added that he doesn’t know a lot of details because they are mostly up to the students.

“Our position is, it’s really up to you,” Gee said. “If there is momentum here, we work with the students … whatever meets the needs of the students and the fiscal needs of our organization, we would like to do.”

Amanda Milkovich, vice president of the student group for TARTA service, Bgsu Tarta, presented a few statistics about students on campus and transportation.

“There are a lot of students on campus, and over 8,000 who do not have vehicles … in essence we are stranded in BG,” Milkovich said. “There are 3,000 students who commute to or from Toledo.”

When a USG senator later asked where Milkovich got her information, she responded with a description of how she arrived at the figures.

“We get [the numbers] from you know, from incoming freshmen and students that are here, because right now we have 4,000 freshmen and then we have to estimate for the upperclassmen, I was just given the numbers.”

Milkovich said she had been corresponding through email with one of the people helping her with the TARTA project and she said he said the buses would be running on Saturday and Sunday, but with fewer hours.

Approximately $10 per semester would be added to students’ bills for the service and students would be able to opt out of it if they chose, Milkovich said.

“So far it’s just up to Perrysburg, because I know there are some safety concerns,” Milkovich said.

Milkovich said the $10 figure was an estimate and referred a few questions to TARTA representatives, who did not speak again during the meeting.

“With a lot of working together, things will be set in stone, as of right now we haven’t been communicating,” Milkovich said. “We’re just looking for an endorsement and then after that to work with TARTA and then BG and the school itself.”

Milkovich said it would take her about a month to get concrete information after a senator asked how long it would take to get it.

Ancinec spoke after Milkovich stepped down.

“We’ve heard a lot of speculation,” Ancinec said. “I believe it’s wise to not make an endorsement yet, I think it’s wise to pose some questions to them so they know what we’re looking for.”

USG members then spoke up with questions they would like answered.

Ancinec said the next step as far as TARTA goes will be to figure out if USG is going to go through a committee and to compose questions to ask TARTA.

“I thought the meeting went well; it was nice to meet all at once and say our concerns,” Ancinec said.