Students not thrilled to ride stuffy limo at University

Image courtesy of Bryan Palacio

Bryan Palacio / Assistant News Director

Riding in a limo is supposed to be fun, but riding in a limo that is crammed with 25 other students for an hour-long trip in inadequate conditions during traffic is not.

“It’s hot in there,” said Chandrea Mercy, a sophomore biology major. “If you sit closer to the driver, it’s a little cooler. Further back in the limo, it’s like having a heat stroke. It’s not too good of an experience.”

This is the dilemma many students face when taking the “shadow bus” back and forth between the Modesto A. Maidique Campus and the Biscayne Bay Campus.

The shadow bus is meant to be a shuttle service that can take students from one campus to the other in between the regular Golden Panther Express times. It’s meant to speed up transportation for students, but students didn’t expect to get picked up in a limo.

“The limo wasn’t something we intended to provide on a regular basis,” said Lissette Hernandez, director of Parking and Transportation. “It just happened that they sent that one because the other shuttle broke down.”

Royal Limousines is the owner of that limo and is the company contracted by the University to help run additional shuttles to keep up with the extra demand of students. They were originally providing a large all-black shuttle, but it only lasted about two weeks into the semester before it broke down.

Then, the company started using the limo as a replacement, and students don’t like the inconvenience of the ride.

“I told [the driver] about the ride, and that it’s pretty bumpy,” said Mercy. “He said if you sit on the side closer to the front then you get a ‘good seat,’ so I guess he knows, as well.”

After attempts were made to contact Royal Limousines owner Alberto Perera, he did not comment by press time.

To add insult to injury, students that take the limo are still charged $2.50 for the one-way trip.

Hernandez said the most fair way to make up for the additional $1 million contract for the shuttles, of which the University covers half the cost, is to charge the students that use the service, as opposed to adding to the already rising cost of fees.

Students aren’t getting what they pay for, however.

Unlike the shuttle service, the limo is not equipped with Wi-Fi or a way for students to pay using their FIU One Card. Instead, students write down their information and are subsequently charged by the school.

“There’s no space to study on there either,” Mercy said.

Hernandez asks that all students seeking to voice their opinions, whether good or bad, do so by emailing parking@fiu.edu.

She also explained that the University has designed a program called Panther Trac, with an accompanying phone application which can be downloaded for free by searching Transloc. The app gives students real-time access to the locations of shuttles, as well as estimated wait times and alerts for when the shuttles are near.

Hernandez also explained that the department will be reconvening to assess the state of the transportation system, something that is done every semester to ensure the system is running smoothly.

“Our office looks to provide the best service to the student and will continue to look at options to make the schedule and the information available in a faster and more precise way,” said Hernandez.

The department of transportation is looking into other options to transport students instead of the limos, but until then, students will have to continue riding in them this semester.

“We will continue to look for better service and customer service as well. This is not acceptable by our standards,” said Hernandez.

bryan.palacio@fiusm.com

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