Starting this semester, NC State has implemented a new policy restricting carpool passes for students located within half a mile of a Wolfline stop or campus.
Michael Ousdahl, transportation planner for NCSU Transportation, said that the policy was implemented to reduce traffic congestion on campus.
“If you live across the street from campus and you and your roommate are driving alone, that’s two cars to campus,” Ousdahl said. “If you are carpooling, that’s one car to campus, and if you are taking the Wolfline that’s zero cars to campus. The idea is to reduce cars to campus.”
Six new buses were also added to Wolfine at the start of the semester to address crowding problems.
“We added six new buses this year,” said Christine Klein, public communication specialist for NCSU Transportation. “Normally, the first couple of days are very full, and our transit manager always cautions folks to not wait until the very last bus.”
Additionally, NCSU Transportation regularly collects data on transportation usage.
“We have staff that ride the busses on regular bases, especially these first few days,” Klein said. “Our director, actually, Kathy Reeve was on the buses yesterday.”
The new buses will be added to some of the most congested routes.
“We look at the bus ridership and performance monthly,” Ousdahl said. “We are able to be very deliberate on where to roll out the buses. We rolled these buses on where we saw the highest demand and capacity concerns: Avent Ferry, the Engineering route, the Southeast loop and Gorman route.”
Some students reacted favorably to the changes while others voiced other transportation-related concerns.
“The main issue is availability of parking spaces for commuter passes, as is the issue with all parking passes,” said Catherine Konieczny, a junior in economics. “The pacing of the Wolfline buses could be improved, especially for those that are running to student apartments where there are varied periods of demand.”
Andrew Thomson, a senior in electrical engineering who commutes by car daily to class, saw the new carpool policy as a positive change.
“It doesn’t affect me, but I do like the idea of having a carpool parking policy,” Thomson said. “That way, if you live with a couple of people, you can drive together instead of separately and save on gas.”
Ousdahl explained that in addition to reducing congestion on campus, the new carpool policy is intended to increase sustainability by encouraging more people to take the bus, bike, or walk.
“This impacts students with congestion on campus and increases NC State’s national profile as being a university committed to sustainability and alternative transportation, Ousdahl said.”
The policy, recently implemented, will only allow students who live more than half a mile from campus to get carpool passes, requiring the rest to walk, bike, or take a bus.
“We continue to monitor and have staff doing physical checks on the routes,” said Klein. “Our transit manager is also keeping a sharp eye on it.”
