The trouble with trams

Tram Services is making changes to appease students and fulfill the demands of their schedules

Tyler Arden/Contributor/The USD Vista

The logistics of keeping over 9,000 students moving and on-time are far from simple. Yet changes made this semester meant to improve tram operation and the riding experience still fail to address the complaints of many students.

Tram Services recently changed service routes and moved the location of several stops with hopes to better serve the campus population. What remains unchanged is the frequency of these trams and the number of vehicles that comprise the fleet.

Most notable is an additional route introduced this semester. The new West Campus Loop makes stops at the West Parking Structure, Colachis Plaza, and the Law Circle before circling back down the hill to West.

Tram Services and Fleet Safety Manager Jonathan Oberg said that the new service was designed around feedback directly obtained from last year’s transportation survey. 

“The changes made of combining the Camino Loop and the Barcelona Express is due to the increased demand for service connecting the West Parking Structure to the Law School Circle and or Legal Research Center,” Oberg said. “This combined with the increased utilization of the West Parking Structure and reduced parking resources due to construction projects, our department’s VP and AVP wanted to implement the route adjustments.”

Oberg noted that although the new route takes longer to travel the upper mesa, Tram Services did add an additional driver to prevent impact on passenger wait times.

The department overseeing the service made other small changes as well. For example, the Old Town tram now begins its route from the Law Circle before stopping at Colachis Plaza then proceeding to Old Town in an effort to help riders catch service on the Coaster commuter train operated by the North County Transit District.

These changes aren’t necessarily sufficient for students during peak operating times, though. Senior Madeline Dougherty has been late to class numerous times because of impacted tram service at the West Structure. Dougherty isn’t alone in facing these problems. 

“I’ve run into problems waiting for the tram at the West Lot countless times,” Dougherty said. “I’ve still been late to class even after taking time in to account because of how many people there are.”

Getting a ride from the West Structure is widely regarded as a contact sport by students and staff alike. It’s an issue on the mind of the department. Oberg said that peak hours are taken into account when planning.

“We have a daily schedule that outlines the class beginning and end times and schedule all breaks outside of these rush hours,” Oberg said. “While we have four drivers on the West and three drivers on the East side of campus, the 9 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m. hours have always been the heaviest demand.”

Oberg recommended that students arrive early and plan ahead. Even then, students are eager to see new solutions that would better accommodate the growing population on campus.

“I’d like to see them get new trams just because they are so small right now,” junior Annabelle Steiner said. “They can get packed coming up from the West Lot at times with people cramming in.”

Tram Services has demoed three new vehicles that might better serve campus. Because of tight turns on campus and steep hills, though, most vehicles are unsuitable. 

A previous pilot program of electric buses that featured two doors and capacity for more riders did not proceed because of cost. 

“The second pilot was the two door electric shuttle that everyone loved, and it even could accommodate our stops’ limited turning radius,” Oberg said. “However, that vehicle was approximately $375,000, while the vehicles we currently use are approximately $93,000.”

Faced with an impacted tram service that doesn’t meet the demands of their schedules, students are turning to alternative transportation methods. Most notably, Bird scooters have filled the gap for students seeking a ride to class. 

These scooters and dockless bikes like Lime are already prohibited on parts of campus during certain time periods by the Student Code of Conduct. That policy is likely to change to directly address the scooters that became popular over the summer.

Dean of Students Donald Godwin and Assistant Vice President of Public Safety James Miyashiro are co-authoring a campus-wide email regarding the devices. Additionally, the Bird app now lists USD’s campus as a red zone.

While feedback from the transportation survey conducted during the previous academic year to gain insight into stakeholder needs across campus and help inform plans regarding trams and alternative solutions is already being utilized, the patience of those that rely on the system to get across campus is growing thin.

“It would be nice to see changes happen sooner rather than later,” Steiner said. 

Until then, students are pointed to the GPS tracking accessible through the university’s app that provides an overview of where the trams are and when the next one is likely to arrive. 

What students shouldn’t expect is a schedule and timetable that would allow them to anticipate a tram in any set and reliable manner. Tram Services notes on their webpage that they aren’t a bus service, even as much as the campus community expects it to be and relies on it as such.