In an effort to reduce the congestion of traffic on campus, University Transportation has implemented new rules regarding parking on campus. It has also added new Wolfline routes and six new buses.

One of the biggest changes is the new rule about carpooling passes, according to Michael Ousdahl, transportation planner of N.C. State’s Transportation Department. Students who live within a half-mile of a Wolfline stop will no longer be eligible to obtain carpooling passes.

 “We performed a statistical analysis to compare home locations and where students were carpooling from, and we found that there was a clustering of students near Avent Ferry Road and Hillsborough Street, places where students should be taking the Wolfline or walking,” Ousdahl said.

Ousdahl said a similar rule already exists at UNC-Chapel Hill, and this way, the students who live south of I-40 would still be eligible for the program.

Another change will involve the scratch-off permits, or daily permits. Previously, each carpool member was issued four of these scratch-off permits to use for emergencies throughout the academic year, when the carpool had conflicting schedules. Now, each member will have six scratch-off permits, but the members will have to park in the Varsity Lot.

Ousdahl said this was done to reduce the creation of false permits, which had increased in recent years.

Pay lots will still be available for emergencies.

Ousdahl said the department calculated the demand by using monthly ridership reports, and it found that some of the routes needed a higher frequency of buses. To help with this, six new buses will be added to the routes along Avent Ferry Road, the Southeast Loop and Gorman Street. In addition, four of the older buses on the Engineering route will be replaced with newer ones that have an increased capacity of 70 passengers per bus, as opposed to the previous limit of 65 passengers.  

 “We are listening to what riders are saying and tailoring our resources to meet the demand,” said Christine Klein, a spokesperson for University Transportation.

Klein that in 2011, an international student wrote in the Technician about the need for a Wolfline route from Gorman Street to Centennial Campus, primarily for servicing other international students.

Klein said this was on the timeline already, but because the demand was higher than the department had predicted, it rushed the implementation of that route.

Now, the Southside Circulator, Bus #10, which had relatively lower ridership, has been rerouted to serve the Varsity Lot, then to go along Gorman Street, Avent Ferry Road and Centennial Campus.

But Ousdahl said he is continuing to look at the numbers, and he is happy with what he sees: about 17,500 riders every day, and as of the end of the last school year, 2.9 million transits by bus.

“As the system grows legitimacy, it becomes more of a symbol of pride, and one that will hopefully become nationally recognized and have N.C. State as the shining star, especially for alternative transportation,” Ousdahl said.