CHUL Will Study Expanded Shuttle to Quad

The chairman of the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life (CHUL) said yesterday that no action has been taken on expanding the shuttle bus service, despite calls for such a move contained in a letter sent to CHUL by the masters of the three Quad Houses last fall.

Francis M. Pipkin, associate dean of the Faculty and CHUL chairman, said yesterday that the CHUL will study the issue of expanded bus service to Quad residents this spring.

Pipkin said that CHUL has been concentrating on housing problems all year, and will not begin the "systematic study" of possible bus shuttle expansion until it has dispensed with the housing issue.

The masters of Currier, North and South Houses wrote a letter last fall recommending several steps to improve housing conditions at the Quad. An expanded bus shuttle service between the Quad and the Yard was among the suggested measures.

The administration "has not adopted a very systematic approach" to the consideration of an expanded bus system, Pipkin said.

He added that Bruce Collier, assistant dean of the College, made an "off-the-cuff calculation" last spring of the costs of one proposed system."

Collier estimated the costs of an all-day bus shuttle at $90,000 a year. The present bus system is budgeted at $61,000 for the current academic year, Thomas F. Vacha, manager of Central Services, said yesterday.

Collier said yesterday the proposed system he studied would offer bus service to and from the quad at 15-minute intervals during the periods of 8-10 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. Buses would depart from Johnston Gate at five-minute intervals during the "rush hours" of 10 a.m. 2 p.m.

"The bus service was originally begun as a security measure, not as a convenience," Collier said.

He added that the shuttle began operating in the fall of 1973, after a series of crimes were committed against students walking to the Quad during the previous spring.

Vacha said the University "would have to hire more student drivers, which might cause some scheduling difficulties."

The shuttle bus system currently operates 35 weeks a year from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. every night, except during vacations. The Divinity School, the Business School, and the River Houses are also served by the system in addition to the Quad.