It's no secret at this point: campus transportation has been getting gradually worse and worse. Students are frustrated, and we are now going on over two years of inconsistent transportation... ever since WRTD took over.

UConn: You need to either get WRTD in line, or switch back to First Transit, or a different company. (Or run the busses yourself!).

Students are frustrated. We've given WRTD 2 years to improve, and they've only gotten worse. 

It is completely unacceptable that we pay nearly $100 PER SEMESTER for a broken transportation system.

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If you’d like to read more details about some of the issues we’ve experienced recently:

Almost immediately after WRTD took over, we saw huge reductions in service. Depot was combined with Hunting Lodge, Purple and Green were combined into one overcrowded bus (as it services two major commuter lots), Blue and Parking Express were combined, and our 3rd Red bus was taken from us. In the two years since then, campus transportation has continuously changed with little consistency. First, our weekend busses were combined into one bus, and our 3rd Yellow line (the most popular line) was removed as well. Our late night service hours were taken away, with service ending around 10pm now instead of midnight or 1am. This leaves late night workers, such as dining hall workers, no ride home in the evening. (Late night dining halls serve food until 10pm). The Orange Line, servicing the inner academic core of campus, now only starts at 8am (after classes have already started), and stops by 7pm.

Eventually, some of these service reductions were rolled back, but the re-implemented service is always worse than the original. For example, Purple and Green now operate separately again, but the Green Line (servicing a major commuter lot - Lot C), stops at 5:00pm. Purple is theoretically supposed to cover Lot C after 5:00pm, but this rarely happens.

Our 3rd Yellow Line has been re-instated in theory, but in practice, this line is typically removed to cover other busses, and so we still end up with 2 Yellow Lines more often than not.

WRTD claims these issues are due to a driver shortage. However, First Transit ran campus transportation prior to 2022. First Transit equally suffered from driver shortages, but never once did a campus line not run because they couldn't cover it. 

One of the most controversial moves by WRTD thus far is the implementation of the 674D and 674E route. WRTD has CANCELLED their OWN regional service (the 674B) and completely replaced it with UConn / HuskyGo busses, which now run to Willimantic in the mornings and evenings. This has led to worse transportation both for Willimantic commuters and UConn students as well. No one, riders or drivers, are happy with this change, and UConn transportation quality is suffering because of it. For example, the reason the Green Line stops at 5pm (essentially cutting out service to a major commuter lot during peak rush hour to return to the parking lot), is because the Green Line must now provide service to Willimantic at 5pm. WRTD is essentially cancelling their own bus service and taking from UConn transportation resources to cover the gaps.

Campus transportation has gradually worsened over these two years, not gotten better. Drivers are quitting at record paces, and we are seeing little to no applicants to replace them. The only reason we have semi-functional service at all right now is reliant on drivers taking large amounts of overtime. If drivers choose not to take overtime, we see even more service disruptions. For example, it is not unheard of for Red and Silver service to be cancelled entirely and replaced with Campus Loop 2, which is 45 minute arrivals as opposed to Red and Silver's 20.

Students are already struggling to get to class on time across our large campus. If these trends continue, campus transportation will gradually worsen until taking the bus anywhere becomes virtually impossible. Whether it be unpredictable schedules, cancelled routes, or lines suddenly going MIA mid-day, students are getting more and more frustrated by the day.