<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4VH3uC_0wClLBjs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4VH3uC_0wClLBjs00" width="1763" height="1176" ><figcaption>Student Government Association Chief of Staff Priscilla Gomez and President Alfred Dozier IV table inside the University Union for their campaign "Your Buses, Your Say". Photo by Aiden Gonzalez</figcaption></figure>The Student Government Association’s new transportation campaign, “Your Buses, Your Say,” launched Sept. 23 and tabled for the first time in the Union last week. The campaign seeks to gather student opinions about university bus services through surveys. The results will inform future advocacy for increased funding and improvements.According to an email from Scott Jackson, executive director of Parking and Transportation Services, the university began partnering with the City of Denton in January 2003. In 2004, Denton voters approved the creation of the Denton County Transportation Authority, and the university has worked with DCTA ever since. The current agreement, signed in 2018, will remain valid until 2028.Addressing transportation concerns was one of the leading campus issues upon which SGA President Alfred Dozier IV and Vice President Jaidyn Watkins campaigned. “Your Buses, Your Say” has been in the works since the semester began. “I feel like we've stayed on target,” Dozier said. “We're able to understand the state of the transportation department and system a lot more compared to when we were running in the spring, and that's helped us kind of develop more information, background, information, context and stuff. So, I feel like the heart of the campaign has definitely stayed the same.”The surveys, which had gathered over 1,233 responses as of the Oct. 2 SGA meeting, solicit feedback on topics such as bus conditions, routes, bus stops and bus occupancy.Once SGA is finished gathering that feedback, they will take necessary actions, Dozier said, such as recommending a possible fee increase for all university students to boost transportation funding.The university’s parking and transportation services are auxiliary services and cannot be funded by state-awarded money per Texas Education Code Sec. 62.136.The current transportation fee is set at $3.50 per credit hour and has remained the same since 2003 with no adjustments for inflation, service costs or cost of labor, according to an email sent to all students by SGA.Three-hundred thousand dollars in transportation funding also comes from parking revenue, according to an email sent from Jackson to SGA. Jackson said this additional funding is not allocated to any specific category but is used wherever it is needed to keep transit operations running.“I just think the money [from the student transportation fee] would be better used somewhere else, not applied to transportation,” Dozier said. “ I think just the fact that they're having to cover that much with parking revenue is kind of like, wow.”A “Frequently Asked Questions” post on SGA’s Instagram outlined some of the obstacles to expanding parking, including a lack of space and the cost, stating, “Creating better parking facilities is a long-term discussion, advocating to improve the efficiency and reliability of our shuttle system is an immediate solution.”He added that Transportation Services has occasionally sacrificed one bus route for another while working within a tight budget.“One thing [Jackson] told me is that they're always doing that mental calculus where, if they cut a route that 1000 people use, that's 1000 people that can no longer ride a bus,” Dozier said. “They always have to make those really tough decisions that they don't want to make, but they have to given our current situation.”Jackson stated that the university collaborates with DCTA on student transportation needs to create routes that fall within the funding available for each fiscal year. The university provides academic calendars, event dates and holidays to DCTA to assure transportation is available to students. Dozier said students' responses so far have mostly confirmed SGA’s belief that the university transportation services are flawed and need improvements.If SGA decides a fee raise is necessary, Dozier says funds will go toward fixing the flaws students reported. “So essentially, the money will go to perfect things like bus routes, bus conditions and maybe making sure the routes that might be less used, like maybe 2,000 people a year, are still kept,” Dozier said.SGA hosted a series of town halls with Jackson to answer questions and address student concerns. “I think it's really cool that the SGA is getting to hear students' opinions,” marketing junior and Senator Michelle Galviz said. “I think a lot of students, from what I have heard from peers and stuff, have been like, glad to know that somebody is listening. Not making promises, but listening.”</div></body>

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SGA launches new transportation campaign “Your Buses, Your Say”

The Student Government Association’s new transportation campaign, “Your Buses, Your Say,” launched Sept. 23 and tabled for the first time in the Union last week. The campaign seeks to gather student opinions about university bus services through surveys. The results will inform future advocacy for increased funding and improvements.