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Campus shuttles help students bypass parking fees
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For Boise State University students looking to cut back on the stresses of campus parking, the Parking and Transportation Services might have just the thing.
Campus shuttles and trolleys are provided free of charge and follow a route in and around campus every day during the fall and spring semesters.
They stop at more than 15 locations including the stadium parking lot, the Albertson Library and the administration building. They also make four stops across Capitol Boulevard for students living in the University Park Apartments, the Quads on the Park and the Morrison Park Apartments.
The Boise Shuttle Services Web site states, “In good weather and, especially, in bad, we get you from your parking spot or apartment and right to your classes.”
The shuttles run from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Fridays, the shuttles operate from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. During peak hours, considered 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., they stop every eight minutes. During non-peak hours, they stop every 15 minutes.
“It’s a wonderful thing. We thoroughly enjoy it,” said Boise Shuttle Services driver Ann Bidwell. “We’re out there seeing the seasons change especially, ya know, on the backside going up and down the river. We see a lot of wildlife back there. We see ducks, geese, deer, raccoons, foxes.”
Bidwell also indicated the services are well received.
“The courtesy that we receive from the riders, the students themselves, is really nice. The drivers get to know the students and, ya know, talk about where they’re from, where they’re going, what classes their studying,” Bidwell said.
Parking and Transportation Services employee Oscar Moncaba said the shuttles don’t run through the summer but they will be back the first day of fall semester.
Shuttle services are also stopped for school holidays and breaks.
For students living farther off campus, as far as Caldwell and Middleton, the ValleyRide services can make life easier.
“The parking department pays for all students and employees to be able to ride the bus for free,” Moncaba said.
Students can pick up the required ID stickers, free of charge, in the student
ID Office located in the Student Union Building. Both the ValleyRide and Boise Shuttle Services (green and red trolleys seen on the campus route) are contracted by BSU.
Parking and Transportation Services spends $78,071 yearly for the campus shuttle services and $121,031 to offer ValleyRide options, according to Moncaba.
The Shuttle and bus options at BSU are free. The cost of parking a car or motorcycle on campus varies. A general student parking permit is $97. For students, a reserved permit is $264, an accessible permit is $97, a motorcycle permit is $47 and a weekend student is $28. Employee prices for all permits are higher.
