Cabrini University’s shuttle bus transportation service has condensed its offerings from previous years to the most popular destinations for students. The shuttle’s loops are reduced by two-thirds.
Cabrini’s shuttle bus services allow students, who do not have personal transportation, to venture outside the confines of this campus. For commuter students who require public transportation, the shuttle bus allows them to go to and from Radnor’s SEPTA stations.
Recent scheduling, in spring 2021, shows Public Safety had three loops for their shuttle bus services each week: the Lancaster Avenue loop, King of Prussia loop, and the Transportation Center loop. The Lancaster Avenue loop took students to the Wayne Square Shopping Center, Wawa, and Target. The King of Prussia loop stopped at Walmart and the King of Prussia Mall. Lastly, the Transportation Center took students to the local Norristown High-Speed Line’s Radnor stop and Paoli/Thorndale line Radnor stop.
Planning and scheduling routes
Currently, in the fall 2022 semester, one loop schedule remains, and students are only taken to Walmart, King of Prussia Mall, and the local Radnor station.
Joseph Fusco, director of Public Safety, said, when developing the schedules and routes, the office considers previous ridership statistics, class schedules, SEPTA schedules, worker breaks and rest periods, and student feedback.
“We tried to measure the differences of the high points where students want to go to the mall or maybe Walmart, or where we have the most commuter students coming in at a time,” Fusco said.
According to statistics provided by Public Safety, in week two of Sept. 2021, most students went to the King of Prussia Mall (with 18 peak riders), and Walmart (16 peak riders). Over the course of roughly 12 hours, Walmart and King of Prussia were hot spots for students. Target was another popular spot with a peak of 12 riders in that time frame. Unfortunately, Wawa and Wayne Square had little activity.
Fusco said, “Thanks to COVID-19 we had a lot of brick-and-mortar stores close in the area on Lancaster Avenue. And we were still running a shuttle there. Well, the statistics were showing zeros. Why were we doing that?’
“What we tried to do is condense because it just didn’t make sense to go ahead and run the shuttle for an additional 10 hours a day when we were taking five students to different locations,” Fusco said.
For the students
To conserve and appropriately use resources, shuttle services to Wayne Square, Target, and Wawa are now unavailable, but Fusco said Public Safety is open to suggestions and feedback. He added that Public Safety is here for the students and will make appropriate accommodations if necessary.
“Obviously, [if] there are 20 students that are saying they want to go there, well, there’s a need for it. Would we put Target and Devon [Square shopping center] back on the ridership roster for one student? I don’t know.”
Hannah Boone, junior education major, said “I don’t often use the shuttle, as the two times I used it before it was not the best experience. As a student on campus without a car, it is very inconvenient to not have a way to get around.”
Currently, the shuttle services to the Radnor stations are available all week for commuters to use. However, Monday through Friday, King of Prussia and Walmart are only available from 4:35 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. On weekends, King of Prussia and Walmart are available all-day from 10:05 a.m. to 10:40 p.m.
“I either have missed my chance and will have to wait about an hour before I can go, or it isn’t running. I wish we had a more reliable shuttle service,” Boone said.
However, Samantha Sturkey, sophomore psychology major, said, “I use the shuttle all the time. I believe it is useful for me and students. For someone who doesn’t drive it gives me the opportunity to get off campus with my friend.”
Cavs Connect
In the new year, by January 1, Cabrini will roll out its new mobile application, Cavs Connect.
On this app, students can access Cabrini functions, and specifically a shuttle bus tracker to know where the bus is, when the bus will arrive, and if there are any delays. “If you’re at the King of Prussia Mall and you want to know how much more time you have before you have to get to the shuttle stop, you should be able to see it,” Fusco said.
“Students will get things like the shuttle tracker, friend watch, the ability to look up athletic schedules, dining meals, things of all that nature, as well as still get the safety that they’ve had just rolled into one,” said Fusco.
