The University of Wisconsin Student Services Finance Committee met Thursday to discuss the budget of UW Transportation Services.
Director of Transportation Operations Gabe Mendez and Commuter Solutions Manager Darwin Ward gave a presentation detailing ridership data and costs, highlighting the transition of the semester bus pass program to more permanent passes.
In addition to parking permits, construction coordination and citation payments and appeals, Transportation Services oversees three key programs — student bus passes, the campus bus network and the accessible shuttle.
The program is funded through segregated fees, or charges in addition to tuition allocated towards student services, activities, program and facilities, according to the Bursar’s Office.
Over 32,000 bus passes have already been distributed to students this year, Mendez said.
The accessible shuttle, previously a fixed-route service, has recently transitioned to on-demand service, Mendez said.
“We shifted that program to fully on demand in 2021,” Mendez said. “We have 20 to 30 rides per week.”
Typically, about 30 students are scheduled for multiple rides throughout the week, and almost all riders are students, Mendez said.
The presenters also addressed the ridership numbers of campus buses.
According to the 2024 Metro Onboard Survey, 85.7% of riders are students, Mendez said.
The bus pass and campus bus programs provide close to five million rides per year, and the accessible shuttle provides around 4,000, Mendez said.
The proposed budget for 2026 is higher than it has been for the last three years, sitting at a total of $5,507,568, Mendez said. He attributed rising costs to the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“You’ll see that we are higher than last year, but I believe we’re all closer to where we were a couple years ago,” Mendez said. “The pandemic dropped prices a lot. Changed things a lot.”
Additionally, Mendez addressed the department’s administrative costs, including student labor fees, space rental and office supplies, which altogether total $154,474, Mendez said.
“You see more of an increase in student labor this year and next year, because our new bus passes are supposed to be long term passes, so it’s gonna stay with you as long as you are here,” Mendez said. “Because of that, it’s more expensive, it’s about $25 just for that piece of media.”
Ride costs are also expected to increase this year due to the pandemic, Mendez added. Further, the Transportation Services contract with Metro Transit includes a yearly increase in hourly cost for the campus bus, Ward said.
This year, Transportation Services is anticipating to collect just under $5 million in segregated fees, and the department currently has a balance of $6.2 million, a balance they aim to bring down responsibly and for the benefit of students, Mendez said.
Mendez said, Transportation Services is adding nine 60-foot electric buses to the campus bus system to help with capacity issues, which will decrease the number of buses necessary and help to reduce overall costs.
Mendez and Ward outlined some of the department’s plans for the near future, including the addition of a fifth accessible shuttle bus in January 2025, adjusting the bus pass contract to include a higher rate in September 2025, and collecting public input on campus bus changes from 2025-2026.
“We like to get a year of public input, and then we make changes after that,” Ward said. “So fall of ‘26 would be if we wanted to make changes…and then in July ‘27 is when the new campus bus contract would take effect.”
SSFC meets next Monday Nov. 18.
