Shuttle-UM could soon be open to residents of College Park.

After years of debate between students, administrators and state lawmakers, two bills on Shuttle-UM – one in each house – passed through the Maryland General Assembly. The bills would remove a legal technicality that had prevented the university from opening its shuttle buses to the public. Proponents of the plan hope it will bring city dollars to the university and improve public transportation in the area.

“Everybody’s for it. The university is for it. The city is for it,” said State Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s), the bills’ sponsor. “It’s good for everybody because it helps the city, the students, and the faculty by getting cars off the road and … puts additional money toward the whole bus system.”

The bills require approval from Gov. Martin O’Malley, but lawmakers said they don’t anticipate a veto. With approval, the shuttles could be open to the public by this fall.

Though city and university officials still have to hammer out terms of the final deal, such as the cost of IDs and a possible cap for the number of non-student riders, a 2006 agreement stated the city would pay $5,000 for the first 100 residents who signed up and $50 for each additional resident.

District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin said, however, that they expected new ridership to be minimal.

“People need to use the shuttle probably not too much because we don’t have that much development on Route 1,” Catlin said. “But if the shuttle is running anyway, it doesn’t really cost that much to put a few more faces on it.”Student leaders and administrators had months ago reached a consensus about the rules for non-student riders. Riders would have to show ID cards that they can buy for a minimal cost, Catlin said. But provisions in the bills would allow the university to disregard state rules for providing a transportation service to the public, which allow state authorities to exercise control over Shuttle-UM’s schedules, routes and other aspects of the program, according to an opinion by State Attorney General Joe Curran.

District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin and Transportation Director Allen both testified in favor of the bills in Annapolis. Rosapepe said he is optimistic its passage will allow the city and the university to further their negotiations, resulting in a win-win situation, he said.

The bill had generated controversy among student groups for years. The Residence Halls Association in particular had spoken out strongly against making Shuttle-UM public, saying it would hurt campus safety. But months after a compromise with student groups and university administrators, RHA President Sumner Handy says the RHA has changed its position.

“We came to the practical conclusion that safety was not being compromised by opening it to the public,” said Handy. “The fact of the matter is that they can already get on campus by walking on foot and taking the shuttle bus on weekends [when drivers don’t check IDs.]”

Handy said the bill is good for students “as long as money comes into DOTS to defray student costs.”

The Student Government Association has also been a long-time proponent of opening Shuttle-UM to the public.

“I support it,” said SGA President Andrew Friedson. “I think that it makes sense for the university to be a community member and reach out.”

woodhousedbk@gmail.com