Online petition to keep SFU Burnaby’s free shuttle running goes live

According to the petition, the shuttle helps students get home safely

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Chris Ho/ The Peak

By: Onosholema Ogoigbe, News Team Member

SFU student Robyn Jacques started an online petition on change.org in a bid to keep the Campus Community Shuttle operational past the project’s fall end date.

The free shuttle was launched at the start of the Summer 2019 semester by SFU Parking & Sustainability Mobility. This shuttle was slated to stop operating before Fall 2019. 

According to Jacques’s petition, the shuttle has become more than just a way for Fraser International College (FIC) students to get to and from school. In the text accompanying the petition, Jacques wrote that “it has become an important fixture on campus, especially for women living in residence.” 

Jacques also states that making the shuttle a permanent fixture is a matter of student safety. 

“The safety of students who live on campus needs to be taken more seriously, and this is an important first step.”

The Peak reached out to David Agosti, SFU’s director of parking and sustainable mobility services, for comment.

 “The shuttle was a temporary measure put in place [ . . . ] to address the loss of transit service to the southeast area of campus during road closures as a result of construction. Those road closures are expected to end August 31, and buses would return to their original routing.”

Agosti told The Peak that the Parking & Sustainability Mobility services are aware of the shuttle’s positive reception, especially from FIC students living on residence. He added that they are “examining the possibility of extending this into a longer temporary pilot to fully assess demands and needs.” He also mentioned that conversations with FIC are ongoing.

When asked about his thoughts on the petition, Agosti replied, “I was not aware of the petition in particular, but we welcome feedback from the community. Community members are welcome to send Shuttle feedback to mobility@sfu.ca.”

The Peak reached out to Robyn Jacques for comment and did not receive a reply in time for production.

At the time of publication, the petition had garnered 140 out of 200 signatures. 

 

 

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