The college’s student shuttle service, the LCAT, has been the source of headaches for students, with schedule changes causing them to be late to classes.
Last year, the college announced improvements to the LCAT, stating that the “loop has been streamlined to enable the shuttle to reliably follow published departure.” Despite this, students say problems remain.
Liu ’25, an English and film and media studies double major, rides the LCAT at least once a day to the Arts Campus. They believe recent construction on McCartney Street has increased the frequency of delays.
“Usually when the shuttle doesn’t come and get you, it’s because it’s jammed somewhere,” Liu said. “[The construction] blocks up the street … and so the LCAT will get stuck there.”
At the 10:20 a.m. Sullivan Parking Deck stop, the shuttle has been late by more than five minutes at least six times this semester alone according to Liu, who keeps a log of these incidents.
“If you have mobility issues, walking up the hill is not an option,” Liu said. “If you want to get to class on time, forget about it.”
Other students shared similar experiences, noting the difficulty of having back-to-back classes on the main campus and the Arts Campus.
“The class I had right after my [theater class] only had a 15-minute gap in between,” Simara Reynoso ’27 explained. “It wasn’t very accessible for me to walk up the stairs in that amount of time and get to class on time, so oftentimes, I was late.”
Public Safety partners with Easton Coach, a charter transportation company, in overseeing the campus shuttle program. Jeff Troxell, director of Public Safety, said he has received no formal complaints regarding the LCAT system.
“I wish people would bring those to our attention so we can address,” he said.
Troxell also said that construction has not affected shuttle times, explaining that construction flaggers were specifically instructed to “not delay the shuttle”.
Michelle Gerstenberg, the manager of Easton Coach Company, heard no complaints but admitted that construction could affect the LCAT system.
“I’m sure the construction is a factor of lateness,” Gerstenberg said.
In addition to late stop times, two students separately observed that the LCAT would leave before scheduled times.
Drivers “don’t wait long enough for students to get out of the class and come down,” art major Miley Hamilton ’27 said. “I feel like sometimes I’ll get there, and they’re already leaving.”
The Public Safety website provides shuttle schedules and information on the LCAT shuttle tracker app, Ride Systems. However, when asked about the app, many students were confused about how to use it or were unaware of its existence.
“I never used the tracking app because the app itself is so confusing,” Reynoso said.
Faculty also recognized how these difficulties affect students who require frequent access to the Arts Campus.
“It continues to be an issue that affects enrollment for all who teach down the hill, and we need another/additional solution,” film and media studies professor Nandini Sikand wrote of the LCAT in an email.
“It shows how infrastructure is so important,” Liu said. “When you have bad infrastructure, it impacts the students and the professors. It impacts who gets to learn.”
Students with LCAT suggestions or complaints can contact parking and transportation specialist Jenn Borgo during business hours, fill out a feedback form on Public Safety’s website or directly call Public Safety’s non-emergency number, according to Troxell.
