UH Parking & Transportation department,

We are petitioning to express our deep concern and frustration regarding the University of Houston's Parking and Transportation Department as a whole as well, as the Sugar Land Shuttle. We have been facing significant challenges with the existing transportation system, and we believe recent decisions will/have only worsened these issues. 

Recently, you have made a decision regarding the Cougar Line - Sugar Land Shuttle route. Based on this decision, you will be restricting students from the shuttle buses in order to prioritize CoT students during peak hours: 7-11 AM and 4-7 PM. Students who do not fit in this category will be denied transportation.

To begin with, restricting service for over half the day to only certain students is both unfair and will not help to ease the load. Administrators at Orientation and in the University have repeatedly said that the Cougar Line shuttle is a valid way to commute to the main campus for students who live in Sugar Land and P&T removed enforcements for only College of Technology students to utilize this facility over 3 years ago. During this time, commuters have begun to rely on the shuttle and removing access to commuters will be detrimental to many students. Most of the users of the shuttle are commuters from Sugar Land, and restricting 2/3 of the entire daily running time of the shuttles to exclusively UHSL students is deeply unfair considering we pay for the same parking permits they do, sometimes more. All it will do is push the commuters into overloading the shuttles during the 11-4 unrestricted time, completely failing to solve the issue of overcrowding -- if anything, it will just make it worse. 

There are solutions between adding an entire new bus and restricting the access of the vast majority of bus users that aren't being explored. The restriction isn't sustainable -- Many have expressed ideas of paying a semester fee to take the shuttle in order to create funding for additional buses for the route. It seems that little to no effort has been made to address these pressing concerns or to implement systematic changes that could alleviate these problems. You could even explore a priority access option that doesn't prevent non-UHSL students from boarding the buses at all during restricted hours. But at the moment, our money is being used to subsidize a bus service we're not allowed to use, and if commuters can't use the bus, there's no point in us buying parking permits at all. In the same way that all UH students are able to use the CougarLine zone/circulator/technology bridge shuttles, the Sugar land route should be no different.

Additionally, the cost of parking permits has escalated considerably in recent years. As students, we already bear the burden of tuition and other academic expenses, making it increasingly difficult to afford the exorbitant parking fees. Parking for 1 year can cost close to $1000. This has left many of us with no choice but to explore alternative means of commuting to campus. The Sugar Land route bus service has long been a lifeline for students in this regard, offering an affordable and sustainable mode of transportation. Commuters have brought this facility to life and have helped it grow fundamentally. However, with this growth comes the necessity for P & T to also grow and accommodate these changes rather than punish the very students who grew the popularity of this system.

Shuttle users also face other challenges that P&T must explain, disclose, or solve. The CougarTrax tracking app is very often bugged out and does not show certain shuttles; this leaves students unable to track their commute. There is allegedly a 4th bus during peak times, however it is never shown on the map and is impossible to verify. A huge issue regarding the tracking has been that all 3 buses are often heading towards the same destination instead of alternating between main campus and SL. This leads to a backlog of students at the opposing destination point because they must wait an extended period of time for the buses to come back and vice versa. Additionally, the buses drive with their AC’s turned off, only turning on to cool the buses when parked at the destinations,  which is extremely suffocating for a bus full of 35-40 students in the 100 degree Texas temperatures.

The UH Parking & Transportation department discourages students from using the shuttle system, rather than taking the matter of a continuously growing Sugar Land campus seriously. Commuters have been ready and willing to come up with a long term and better solution regarding the shuttle system. The department's lack of responsiveness to student needs and long term solutions has fostered a sense of frustration and disappointment among the university community.

It is crucial that we work together to create an environment where students can focus on their education without the added stress of transportation issues or financial burdens from parking. The UH Parking & Transportation department has been vague and defensive in conversations regarding their overall functionality. After years of struggling to maintain satisfaction, it is time UH P&T sees structural changes that will benefit all UH students, faculty, and departments. Yes, the department doesn't receive funding from the University or the State of Texas; but they have bright and capable students who are willing to work alongside and advocate for them with a solution that would benefit everyone. 

Sincerely, 

University of Houston Students