By: Gage Morgan
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Setting the record for the third year in a row, the University of Arkansas now boasts over 32,000 actively enrolled students. This surge in enrollment is causing overcrowding issues in areas such as campus dining facilities, parking lots, and Razorback Transit.
Students who rely on Razorback Transit buses to commute to and from campus are experiencing ongoing delays this fall according to UofA Parking and Transit. Enrollment numbers, as well as staffing shortages, play a key role in emphasizing this problem. “Our transit and parking department has been heavily recruiting and training drivers to combat this issue,” said Communications Manager for Parking and Transit, Drew Watzke. “Last school year, we had only 17 transit drivers in circulation. Once our next round of training is over, we will be up to 26 drivers – a big improvement from a year ago.”
If enrollment continues trending upward, there will be an even higher demand to fill going into fall of 2024. It is not just University of Arkansas students using these services either. Because Razorback Transit is federally funded, anyone has access to the offered transit services, which also contributes to bus crowds.
In addition to recruiting and training new bus drivers, Transit and Parking plans to implement a type of bus not seen before in Razorback Transit. “We have (…) purchased an articulated bus (looks like an accordion) that will soon be utilized on one of our most frequented routes,” said Watzke. “The capacity of the articulated bus is larger and should alleviate the number of people that has to wait for another bus.”
Razorback transit offers nine bus routes across Fayetteville during Peak Fall, and full transit service is from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.