Baltimore Collegetown Shuttle

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Baltimore Collegetown Shuttle
Innovative Collaboration Among Colleges
Universities
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What is the Baltimore Collegetown Network?
www.baltimorecollegetown.org
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Member Institutions
The Baltimore Collegetown Network is a consortium
of 16 institutions

• Baltimore City Community College
• Baltimore Hebrew University
• Baltimore International College
• College of Notre Dame of Maryland
• Coppin State College
• Goucher College
• Johns Hopkins University ( Peabody Institute)

• Loyola College
• Maryland Institute College of Art
• McDaniel College
• Morgan State University
• Towson University
• University of Baltimore
• University of Maryland, Baltimore
• UMBC
• Villa Julie College

Shuttle schools are highlighted in red
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Colleges in Baltimore

• Mission is to recruit, engage, retain
• Bring people to the city
• 100,000 students
• 40,000 employees
• 11,000 new undergraduates annually
• 39,000 out-of-state and international students
• Contribute 3.3 billion to the local economy
• Encourage tourist spending
• 60,000 students and parents visit our campuses
  each year
• Advance workforce development
• 15,000 students graduate from our institutions
  each year.
• Transport students
• 72,000 riders used the Collegetown Shuttle last
  year

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Institutional Commitment

• Governance
• Governing Board of one VP from each institution
• Committees
• Marketing
• Student Affairs
• CFOs
• HR Directors
• Transportation
• Others
• Collegetown Shuttle
• Cornerstone initiative of BCN
• Committee representative
• Funding
• Marketing

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How Was Transportation Identified As A Need?

• Greatest obstacle identified to greater
  collaboration by the Teagle Foundation report was
  the lack of convenient inter-campus transit
  links.
• Obstacles identified to the use of public
  transportation were inconvenience to get from
  school to school and the student perception of
  the safety and service of busses.
• There is no direct college-to-college route.
• Many students may have cars, but parking at
  colleges for events and classes can be difficult
  to find.

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History Of The Collegetown Shuttle

• A grant-funded study by the member campuses and
  the KFH group determined that Baltimores lack of
  a comprehensive transportation system held the
  area back as a premier college town destination.
• The 1998-99 study did an
• Analysis of transit needs consisted of a paper
  survey at each college, interviews with
  administration, staff and students
• Inventory of currently available transportation
  resources
• Inventory of currently available transportation
  resources
• Alternatives
• Recommended Plan (creation of the Collegetown
  Shuttle system)
• Ten institutions came together to address this
  issue.
• Five secured a 150,000 grant from the Teagle
  Fdtn.
• and started the Collegetown Shuttle in
  1999-2000.

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Collegetown Shuttle Route

• Participating Schools
• Goucher College
• Towson University
• College of Notre Dame
• Loyola College
• Johns Hopkins University
• Maryland Institute College of Art
• UMBC
• Social DestinationsInner Harbor, Belvedere
  Square, Penn Station, Towson Town Center
• Part-time staff

I like the shuttle because it reduces the hassle
of finding transportation, especially for
students who do not have cars. I enjoy the ride,
talking with the friendly bus drivers who
eventually made the ride something to look
forward to. With the shuttle, I also meet many
new people at other schools. Beverly Ukandu,
JHU 08
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Shuttle Funding

• Funded primarily by the participating member
  schools
• Approximately 20 of budget comes from
  fundraising
• Strong partnership with the DHMH Tobacco
  Prevention Department as exterior wrap sponsor
• Interior sponsorships
• Tout successes, keep awareness alive

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Shuttle Ridership Numbers
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Website

• Look at the shuttle schedule
• Track Shuttle online
• Post shuttle updates, delays, and announcements
  under Hot Tips

www.BaltimoreCollegetown.org
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What Do Students Think Of The Shuttle?

• In the Spring of 2007, BCN surveyed almost 500
  riders.
• Riders are primarily undergraduates, but graduate
  students, faculty and staff can and do use the
  Shuttle.
• What did they say?

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Reasons Why Students Ride The Shuttle

• Go to other colleges (16 of respondents)
• Get to work (4 of respondents)
• Social (92 of respondents)
• - Go to restaurants
• - Go to mall, other shops
• - Grocery Shopping
• - Internships
• - Doctors Appointments
• - Banking
• - All sorts of personal needs
• These numbers are consistent with previous four
  years of rider survey data

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What Do Students Like About The Shuttle?

• Free
• Perceived Safety
• Convenient
• Meets their needs

• Dependable
• No need for a car
• Nice staff
• Saves money

I love the shuttle. My friends and I use it to
get around town. It really helps us get where we
want to go. Monica Radcliffe, Goucher student
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What Do Students Say Can Be Better?

• Expanded routes
• More shuttles during peak travel hours/
• weekends
• Better identification of shuttles/signage

• 24 hour phone line with shuttle updates
• Increased frequency of the shuttles

Expand service to provide service to more of the
city, to more campuses, every day. - Loyola
College student, 06 survey
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What Do Campuses Like About The Collegetown
Shuttle?

• Makes Baltimore more accessible to students in a
  safe environment.
• Operates seven days/week meets a need for their
  students.
• Great recruitment and retention tool.
• Serves as a national model for collaboration and
  student transportation.

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Next Steps

• Work with institutions and community partners to
  connect more of Baltimores 100,000 students to
  social destinations, internships, jobs, and
  transportation hubs.
• Meet student needs for direct routes, free fares,
  and reliable service in order to engage them in
  the community.
• Represent higher education needs in regional
  transportation planning discussions.

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Contacts

• Kristen Campbell, Executive Director, Baltimore
  Collegetown Network
• 410-828-5733
• Kcampbell_at_BaltimoreCollegetown.org
• Maureen Cannon, Assistant Director, Baltimore
  Collegetown Network
• 410-828-5732
• Mcannon_at_BaltimoreCollegetown.org
• Bill Smedick, Ph.D, Johns Hopkins University
• Chair of the Collegetown Transportation Committee
• 410-516-8190
• smedick_at_jhu.edu

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Questions?
www.baltimorecollegetown.org