Free campus shuttle should be permanent, SFU student says

The Simon Fraser University campus is seen from above in spring 2019. (Pete Cline / CTV News Vancouver)

A Simon Fraser University student has started an online petition to keep a free on-campus shuttle running in the fall.

Robyn Jacques, a third-year student who is currently taking summer classes and living on SFU’s Burnaby campus, wrote in the petition that the shuttle has become "an important fixture on campus, especially for women living in residence."

The campus shuttle was launched by SFU Parking & Sustainable Mobility back in April to provide transportation to students in lieu of normal TransLink bus services, which are currently rerouted due to construction.

The free shuttle runs every 30 minutes Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., providing services between campus residences and Fraser International College, along with two other stops on the way.

Normal transit routes are due to be restored by the end of August, so the shuttles are scheduled to be discontinued then.

But Jacques, along with the nearly 200 people who have signed her petition, believes that the shuttle should become a permanent service on campus.

Jacques told CTV News that the shuttle has been very helpful, especially if she's studying late on the other side of campus, or bringing groceries back to her residence. She said when she used to ride the regular busses, she often felt unsafe. The normal bus routes do not stop near the residence building, often to walk in the dark, Jacques said.

"It is especially more dangerous during the winter months, when the school is covered in snow and fog," she said.

According to Jacques, who says she has become friends with some of the shuttle drivers, there can be up to 400 students taking the shuttles in a six-hour period.

"The safety of students who live on campus needs to be taken more seriously, and this is an important first step," the petition reads.