Dean’s Office Neglects Simple Shuttle Solutions

To the editors:



It’s nice to see that Shuttle Services and the College Dean’s Office are investigating ways to make using the shuttle more convenient (“GPS to Aid Shuttling Students,” news, Oct. 12). The GPS system, however, is of questionable value, with numerous implementation delays, with a pricetag of $150,000, and with perhaps limited utility to students and other shuttle riders.

Three more useful, and cheaper, shuttle-related services have already been developed outside of the Dean’s Office: ShuttleBoy, the Cabot Dining Hall LED screen, and business card-sized shuttle schedules, the last of which I first printed with my house administrator three years ago. Last spring, administrators from Shuttle Services and University Hall, including Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II, assured me that they would begin to print the schedules themselves, which cost the Quad houses a mere $100 each year to print. Five weeks into the school year, they have failed to print a version for this year, leaving Quad house administrators to once again coordinate their production.

For those in the Quad, and in Mather and Dunster, the shuttle is literally a lifeline to the rest of campus. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that schedule conveniences like these substantially raise the quality of residential life for those on the outskirts of campus. The responsibility of Shuttle Services and University Hall is to provide and support immediate, cost-effective solutions, not just long-range planning for a $150,000 gizmo.



MATTHEW S. MEISEL ’07

Boston, MA

Oct. 12, 2007



The writer was Editorial Chair in 2006.