Dear President Devereaux:

As students and parents in the Goucher College community, we write to urge you to re-enlist in the Baltimore CollegeTown Shuttle program, an important means for Goucher students to remain connected to the larger Baltimore community and its cultural and educational institutions.

Many of us were surprised and disappointed to learn, shortly before the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester, that Goucher would no longer participate in the shuttle program. It came as a particular surprise since membership in the Baltimore CollegeTown program and access to the shuttle bus were promoted to incoming and prospective students as being an especially valuable benefit to the Goucher community, both in terms of traveling to central Baltimore and Penn Station, and also serving as a connection to the other fine schools in the Baltimore area.

Although Goucher’s home neighborhood of Towson offers many wonderful options, including the Towson Town Shuttle, students are excited to explore the city, after settling in at Goucher, or returning after a sadly long hiatus. Goucher clearly considers its connection to the larger metropolitan area to be important to its mission and identity, right down to the fact that its mailing address is listed as Baltimore, Maryland.

It is our understanding that only a small minority of Goucher students have their own cars, and most are dependent on their feet or public transportation to get around, or otherwise to take an expensive Uber ride to get anywhere beyond the immediate vicinity.  As we move out of summer weather, this becomes particularly important for students taking--or who wish to take--classes at some of the other top notch colleges and universities in the Baltimore CollegeTown program.

Although the local Towson Shuttle is useful for shopping and dining in the immediate area, it does not go beyond Towson itself, and does not go as far as the Light Rail station in Lutherville, a few miles away from the Goucher campus. Although the Red bus on York Road does travel to downtown Baltimore, it does not go to Penn Station or to the other colleges on the CollegeTown Shuttle.

As things stand now, the CollegeTown Shuttle continues to serve neighboring Towson University, but no longer serves the Goucher campus, and we do not believe that Goucher students are authorized to use the shuttle any longer.

We understand, of course, that the unprecedented pandemic that has now disrupted three academic years necessarily makes it difficult to move students between campuses in large groups. As always, the health and safety of our community must be the top priority. However, just as Goucher requires that all students and faculty be vaccinated, both Towson University and Johns Hopkins University also have the same requirements of their students and faculty.  As we slowly move into a the post-pandemic era, we are hopeful that the numerous health precautions already provided by the CollegeTown Shuttle and its affiliated schools will continue to make riding the shuttle a low-risk benefit for students in the Baltimore community, including Goucher students.

Goucher and its students have a great deal to offer to the Baltimore area, and likewise, Goucher students stand to gain substantially from their connection to the City of Baltimore and its many institutions and attractions. The CollegeTown Shuttle is an important part of that relationship, and we look forward to its return. Please let us know what we can do to help make this happen.

Thank you.