Wolfline officials will move bus stops, add new routes and make more buses available this fall for student and faculty use.

Changes include the addition of five new buses and several new routes to facilitate student travel, as well as a new location for the Dan Allen Drive stop.

Transportation will add five new buses to the Wolfline’s existing fleet of 30 in response to increasing student demand and crowding on existing buses. According to Kim Paylor, transit manager, the new buses will hold about 60 passengers. Although the capacity is the same as the old buses, the new vehicles will allow more room for seating.

Paylor said Transportation budgeted $560,000 for the new buses, a cost it will spread over the next two years as it includes maintenance and fuel for the buses.

The new buses will run mostly express or long-distance routes due to their reduced loading efficiency. Old buses have two doors, one used for loading and another for offloading at stops. New buses have only one door, making loading and unloading a longer process. To make the process as efficient as possible, Transportation reduced the number of stops these buses will make.

The new buses share the distinctive paint scheme and look of existing Wolfline buses, but have a slightly different configuration. Instead of perimeter seats, new buses have seats that face forward and a single door near the front.

“You will be able to tell, yes, this a Wolfline bus,” said Christine Klein, public communications specialist with Transportation.

Transportation will also add the new 5a Varsity Express route, which will serve the Varsity Commuter Parking Lot. Klein said the new service is important because of the volume of new commuters the Varsity Lot will have to serve now that a parking deck in West Lot is under construction.

“West Lot is our major commuter parking area,” Klein said.

According to Klein, construction on the parking deck will take about a year, and has resulted in the loss of 480 parking spots in West Lot, making Varsity the new primary commuter parking area.

Klein said many students think they can find parking in nearby neighborhoods or pay lots, but most neighborhoods have an enforced two-hour parking limit, and pay lot queues can stretch for long distances and fill up quickly.

“At this point, [Varsity] is your best bet,” Klein said.

Transportation also announced a move for the Wolfline stop located on Dan Allen Drive near the pedestrian crossing.

“Dan Allen has always been a traffic challenge,” Klein said. “We’ve received various complaints over the years.”

In the past, the stop was necessary to serve students parking in the Dan Allen Deck, but she said demand has started to shift away.

“Dan Allen [Deck] is more of a staff parking deck now,” said Klein.

The stop moved to Founders Drive in front of Nelson Hall. According to Paylor, the new location is ideal because it already has a dedicated bus lane and is located right in front of the building. She said the shift will not cause any major change in bus routing or student flow.

Transportation officials are also suggesting students use the Hillsborough Shuttle, which runs a route along Dan Allen and Hillsborough Street. The presence of the Hillsborough Street roundabouts makes the new path possible and is a change from the usual longer routes that tend to circle the entire campus.

“If you can’t get the Wolflink shuttle, the Hillsborough shuttle is still a good option,” Klein said.

As for timing and schedule planning for new students, Klein had some advice.

“Take it upon yourself to go to the website (www2.acs.ncsu.edu/trans/) and look at the timetables for specific buses,” she said.

Come the first few days of classes, she said students should already have their routes planned out — or they’ll regret it.

“It will be a zoo,” said Klein.