Colgate University’s contract with First Transit, which previously ran campus transportation, ended in August, and the University has now fully switched to an in-house service. The switch has led to the development of a new department, the Transportation Department, housed under Campus Safety.
Associate Vice President for Emergency Management, Campus Safety and Environmental Health and Safety Joseph Hernon explained how the process to form the new department took place.
“Once the decision was made to transition from an outside vendor to an in-house service, I assembled a group of campus partners to assess and execute the tasks needed to build our Transportation Department,” Hernon said. “This process involved hiring a director, ordering vehicles, evaluating various technology solutions and collaborating with state and federal government agencies to secure the necessary authorizations for our transportation operations.”
Colin Idzi, who previously directed transportation at Hamilton College, has taken on the role of director of transportation. He described the various duties that go into this new role.
“I am in charge of overseeing the Colgate Shuttle, formerly the Colgate Cruiser, and all of the on-demand requests to and from the Syracuse Airport and Utica and Syracuse bus and train stations,” Idzi said. “I have a team of nine full-time drivers to start and will have a fleet of eight vehicles soon.”
The vehicles currently providing transportation on campus are loaner vehicles, Hernon explained, and new branded buses will arrive within the coming months.
“As with any well-planned project, we faced a few challenges along the way. Supply chain issues affected the timely delivery of our ordered buses, but fortunately, our dealership provided loaner buses to cover our immediate needs,” Hernon said. “For now, these buses have been temporarily labeled with magnets. We expect our new buses to arrive in the coming months, at which point they will be wrapped and fully branded. In the meantime, we’re on the road continuing to support our students.”
Both Hernon and Idzi expressed the effort to maintain the drivers from previous years.
“We have hired seven of the drivers and the dispatchers from First Transit and one outside hire new to Colgate,” Idzi said. “Now that they are official Colgate University employees, they have a sense of truly being a part of the Colgate community.”
The decision to switch to in-house services was announced in May. Associate Vice President and Controller Brittany Plumley was involved in the process leading up to the announcement and explained why the switch was beneficial.
“We made the decision to bring our transportation services in-house as it aligned more with our commitment to providing safe, efficient and cost-effective solutions to our campus community,” Plumley said. “Over time, the costs associated with our previous vendor had significantly increased and the level of services were continually changing due to macro-market challenges our vendor was facing. Additionally, with an external vendor, we are limited in our ability to adapt service levels to our unique and changing needs.”
The Maroon-News reached out to Transdev, the company that acquired First Transit, for a statement but did not receive a response.
Idzi explained that while the service routes will remain the same as previous years for the time being, some changes are taking effect immediately.
“We will not be adjusting the shuttle schedule until we can see where the need is and find the best use of our time. The on-demand [shuttle] request process is a little different with Google Form links on our webpage,” Idzi said. “We will be requiring at least 48 hours’ notice for all requests made to our office. We will also be adding a stop at Wegmans in Dewitt, N.Y., to the Destiny Mall shuttle on Saturdays.”
Idzi also discussed some of the challenges they have faced in the transition and hope that the new GPS system will help solve some of these issues.
“Our webpage will be updated soon with a GPS tracker on the shuttle buses so you can see when they will get to your stop. That has been a bit delayed due to things out of our control but all the schedules are up to date online,” Idzi said. “We are aware that some stops in the morning are having trouble with the [number] of students needing a ride up the hill, but we are working on it and it will be better when our buses arrive with more capacity and more handrails to allow students to stand while the bus is moving.”
In an email sent on Monday, Sept. 9, Idzi gave the students an overview of the new department and what to expect this fall semester. Idzi explained the GPS transition currently taking place.
“Transloc, our previous GPS tracking system, is no longer active,” Idzi wrote. “We are working to bring online a new GPS tracking service, which will be available once the new fleet arrives and we are able to install physical hardware.”
Idzi also mentioned some other technological improvements, including peak transit, which will take effect later this fall.
“This software will provide real-time location information for the Colgate Shuttle on a convenient app,” Idzi wrote. “In addition, riders can opt in to receive push notifications should there be any route changes or delays.”
Senior Brooke Abeles said she loves taking the Colgate Shuttle but hopes that the GPS system will improve with the in-house transition this semester.
“I love taking the shuttle and getting to talk to the drivers. They are always so nice and play great music,” Abeles said. “It is a relief to be able to get a ride home late at night from the library, but I do hope the issues with the GPS improve. This would not only make students happier but the drivers as well.”
With the help of student feedback, the Transportation Department will make helpful adjustments based on student need over the following semesters.
“We plan to collaborate with the student body and Student Government to explore ways to enhance the service, ensuring it effectively meets the needs of our riders,” Hernon said.
The Transportation Department can be contacted at [email protected] or 315-228-7709.
