The 104 Shuttle-UM bus, which typically used to travel from Regents Drive Garage to the College Park Metro Station, changed its route. As of Jan. 23, the bus began stopping in front of Stamp Student Union instead.

Buses traveling on the route will leave the Metro, take Campus Drive up to Stamp Student Union and turn back around after reaching Cole Field House. The previous route went along Regents Drive before turning left on Route 1 and right on Campus Drive, heading back toward the Metro.

The 104 Shuttle UM bus route, which now goes to Stamp Student Union. (Photo courtesy of DOTS)

The change was brought on after Campus Drive reverted back to a two-way street. The shuttle will continue to stop at Stamp until construction begins on the Purple Line, a 16.2-mile light rail transit system meant to help off-campus students commute to the University of Maryland campus more efficiently. The bus will then move back down to Regents Drive.

The bus used to stop at Stamp, but moved down to Regents Drive after eastbound Campus Drive closed in 2014 for the Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center. After the move, ridership fell by 12 percent, Department of Transportation Services assistant director Anna McLaughlin said.

“When Campus Drive changed, we lost a lot of riders [because] if [riders] can’t get up the hill, [they’re] not going to take it,” said DOTS Director David Allen.

While some students are pleased with the change, Peter Vouvounas, a junior computer science major, said it remains to be seen if the bus stopping at Stamp will be more convenient for him.

“It probably will be [more convenient],” he said, “simply because more buses seem to connect here than at Regents Drive.”

Emily Kelly, a higher education graduate student, said the stop is more convenient for her because she works in Van Munching Hall.

“I don’t know if it’s going to take longer to get to the Metro with the new route, but it’s definitely better for me walking on campus,” she said.

The bus route signs for the 104 bus should be updated by the end of the week, McLaughlin wrote in an email.