By Kayla Perry

For many LU students, the Sudbury transit system is the primary route of transportation – this is why, over the summer, SGA representatives have been working to improve the service for students.

After conducting a summer study of LU students use of the bus routes, the SGA learned that the University Four Corners bus route was in high demand. It was also noted that an improvement could be made in the communication of transit information. After analyzing the results of the study, the SGA began a number of meetings with transit officials, to work out a new set of routes for students.

To begin with, the 503 University/Four Corners route has been expanded to include Friday and Sunday instead of just Saturday. In total, 10 hours of extra service have been added to the route. Similarly, a new 1:30 a.m. Regent/University route has been implemented on Saturday evenings.

The changes also include new hours of operation – the routes to and from campus will run from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, as opposed to only the few hours of operation in the past.

“These improvements will make a real difference, in terms of ease of movement to key locations like the South End WalMart, the LCBO, and more for a great many students,” said Mark Mancini, Vice President of Issues for the SGA.The SGA is also working in partnership with the University to install a number of monitors around campus to communicate transit information to students–including route times, stop times, locations, and more.

“This year’s SGA team really wanted to focus on improving the partnership to focus squarely on student transit needs. That means, largely, improved service for students,” said Mancini. “Out of this renewed commitment to transit, students will see some major improvements starting in September. I want to stress that these changes are the first steps in the right direction for student transit. There are still a great many challenges in transit, which we need to deal with. We plan to use this year to continue to work with Sudbury Transit to identify other improvements.”