The Elicker administration is in early-stage talks with Yale and CT Transit about integrating university shuttles into the public bus system, according to the mayor and the city’s transportation director. At the moment, Yale has “no plans” to go through with such a merger, according to an associate vice president of the university. News of the dialogue between Yale, CT Transit, and the city emerged at a public input session about a proposal for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in New Haven at Stetson Library on Wednesday evening. Amid a conversation about a proposal for express bus routes, dedicated bus lanes, and other infrastructure overhauls, local environmental advocate Adrian Huq asked about how Yale’s private shuttle system fits into the long-term vision for CT Transit buses. Meeting attendees Elias Estabrook and Adrian Huq. Huq asked about a possible “phase out of the Yale Shuttle,” which could entail “integrating their system into the more public arena.” CT Transit Director of Rapid Transit and Zero Emissions Barry Diggs replied that Yale has had initial discussions with CT Transit about that very prospect. The conversations have been “very, very early — real infancy stages,” said Diggs. “I don’t think they want to be in the shuttle system business,” he added of Yale. “We are in the early stages,” confirmed City Transportation, Traffic, Parking (TTP) Director Haley Simpson, “but the conversation is ongoing.” Meanwhile, Yale Associate Vice President for Administrative Operations John Mayes wrote in a statement on Friday that “we have no plans to merge or replace Yale’s shuttle service with CT Transit service at this time.” Mayes wrote, “Yale transit team members meet regularly with our city and state transit team colleagues. Recent meetings have focused on exploring and understanding route overlaps, learning about fleet electrification efforts, and understanding planned BRT service changes.” A map of Yale shuttle routes and CT Transit bus routes. Yale operates 14 shuttle routes through Downtown, East Rock, and parts of the Hill, Dwight, Newhallville, and Wooster Square. The shuttles are free to ride for any member of the public, not only those with a Yale affiliation. “There’s so much redundancy” between the Yale shuttle system and CT Transit buses, Huq said, expressing support for a merger of the two systems. According to Mayor Justin Elicker, the city initiated these “early-stage” conversations with Yale and CT Transit. Elicker had raised the idea of combining the Yale shuttle system with CT Transit services during his 2019 mayoral campaign. Integrating the Yale shuttle system with the public bus system is “something I’ve been interested in for quite some time for a number of reasons,” Elicker said. “In my view, you shouldn’t have one bus for Yale-affiliated people and another bus for everyone else in the city.” Elicker noted that “in many places, the CT Transit route overlaps almost identically or very closely to the Yale shuttle routes.” It would be more energy efficient and financially efficient to combine the two systems, he argued, “because it clearly doesn’t make sense to have two large buses that aren’t always full on the same route.” Elicker said it’s unlikely that CT Transit would entirely replace the Yale shuttle system — particularly the door-to-door shuttle service that the university provides at night, or the shuttle that connects Yale’s New Haven campus to its West Campus in West Haven. However, he envisions that some shuttle routes could be eliminated if Yale provided students with free public bus rides through CT Transit’s U-Pass program, and if CT Transit potentially increases route frequency to account for current Yale shuttle riders. He added that while he sometimes hears skepticism about riding public buses from regular Yale shuttle passengers, “as someone who takes the city bus all the time, it’s predictable. There’s an app. It’s a lovely experience… I’d just caution people that are used to taking the Yale shuttle to be open-minded.” Elicker said he can’t speak to how open Yale has been to this proposal. “Our teams have started talking, but we haven’t gotten that far down the road,” he said. On the west side of town, Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) has a shuttle system with routes that run through the public university’s campus and connect the university to Union Station. In a statement, SCSU Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance Administration Lillian Wanjagi wrote, “Southern Connecticut State University would be very interested in learning more about a potential partnership that could improve and expand transportation options for our students. Collaborations like this are not uncommon at universities in urban areas, and we would welcome the opportunity to explore it further.” SCSU Communications Coordinator Jason Edwards wrote in an email that the university has not yet discussed the issue with the city or CT Transit. “Due to funding constraints,” Edwards wrote, “the university’s shuttle routes are currently extremely limited, and minimal service offerings are at very high risk of reduction or discontinuation. The existing fleet has endured years of heavy use, making replacement urgent…. Integrating services through a broader public transit partnership would be a major benefit to the university community.” Asked about this idea, Elicker said, “We would love to have that conversation with Southern.” The post City Advocates For Yale Shuttle-Public Bus Merger appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less