Student Senate voted to approve the NC State Transportation Fee 2024-2025 Recommendation Act as well as the fall 2023 appropriations.
Director of Transportation Than Austin opened the meeting with a presentation on NC State Transportation’s request for a $4 fee increase for the 2024-2025 year. This is part of a schedule determined two years ago which said the transportation department would request a $4 increase every other year until the University completed its contract with TransDev, the company contracted to provide Wolfline buses, Austin said.
The reasons for the increase include meeting the commitments of the contract with TransDev and the schedule made two years ago while helping to maintain the current service levels, Austin said.
“The Wolfline, as you can imagine, is an expensive service to operate,” Austin said. “Right now, our contract obligations plus our fuel costs is about $7.5 million a year, and the student transit fee funds almost all of that.”
Austin said Transportation is currently trying to encourage other modes of transportation through the implementation of e-bikes and more bike racks, of which 70 have been installed since January. Looking ahead, Austin said the department would like to move toward the use of electric buses once the current contract is up.
A concern of both transportation officials and the senate is driver shortages and low wages.
Senate Secretary Katie Phillips referenced a 2019 plan to hire student drivers, which Wolfline Manager Connor Jones said is still in effect with one caveat.
“We would love to have any student,” Jones said. “The problem is TransDev’s insurance policy requires 21 years of age. So if you’re 21 or over, come on over and we’ll hire you.”
As for pay increases, Austin said bus drivers are not employed by the University, so their wages have to be negotiated with TransDev. Should the department have access to a sufficient number of bus drivers, Margaret Baker, a doctoral student in communication, rhetoric and digital media and student senator, asked if it could afford to pay them.
“Yes,” Austin said. “We’re paying less than we should. We have enough money to pay drivers, and we have enough money to offer modest raises over the period of the contract.”
Student Body Treasurer Evan Martino presented the Finance Committee’s allocations for the cycle.
Of the 296 organizations that submitted applications, 261 met the qualifications required for funding. From those applications, a total of $406,055.40 was requested. The Appropriations Act allocated a total of $160,237.
When reporting on this cycle’s appropriations requests, Martino acknowledged the discrepancy in the amount requested and what was granted.
“The total requested amount was a little over $400,000,” Martino said. “I’ll let you in on a little secret — we did not have that money. We did not have all that. So, the full amount that we were able to allocate was a little over $160,000, significantly less than what was requested. Many organizations requested the maximum amount, which was $2,000.”
Martino thanked those on the appropriations council and other fellow Senate members for their help on the project.
“That work is certainly, at times, thankless, as many student organizations aren’t receiving the final amount that they would like,” Martino said. “I definitely appreciate everyone’s hard work.”
Other business included the approval of appointed senators Nataly Vazquez and Indianna Low and Student Government website manager Robert Battle.
Legislation Passed:
AB 36: Fall Break 2023 – Spring Break 2024 Appropriations Act – Passed
The Appropriations Act, which will allocate $160,237 to 261 student organizations, passed with 49 positive votes, zero negative and zero abstentions.
SR 37: NC State Transportation Fee 2024-2025 Recommendation Act – Passed
SR 37, which established the Student Senate opinion to recommend the increase of $4 in student fees for transportation costs, passed with 48 positive votes, zero negative and zero abstentions.
FB 38: Human Factors and Ergonomics Student Chapter at NC State Funding Act – Passed
FB 38, which will provide the Human Factors and Ergonomics Student Chapter with $4,999 for transportation costs for the HFES Conference in Washington, D.C., passed with 49 positive votes, zero negative and one abstention.
FB 39: Women’s Soccer Club Reimbursement Act – Passed
FB 39, which reimburses the Women’s Soccer Club $4,999 for lodging costs for a tournament at Clemson University, passed with 49 positive votes, zero negative and one abstention.
