Among the students standing on the packed EE bus Tuesday stood Director of Transportation Services Jack Molenaar. He rode around the entire campus once, answering student’s questions, dispelling myths, receiving complaints and compliments.
Molenaar said he understands the system has it flaws but he takes pride in its efficiency.
“You have to learn the system,” he said. “You have to plan your schedule ahead of time, you have to realize that there’s going to be traffic, there’s going to be accidents and you might be late at times. That’s the life of any commuter.”
The bus system is the largest system for a University in the nation and the second largest transit system in the state, Molenaar said.
The overall budget for the transit system this year is $7.9 million. Forty nine percent of that is state aid, $1.8 million is transportation fines, $3.6 million is permit revenue and $4 million from transportation fees are included on each student’s semester bill, he said. All other fees are small, the most being around $70,000 from meters.
“On a typical Tuesday during the fall or spring semester, we provide 360 hours of service, which equals approximately $24,000,” said Molenaar, who also said Tuesday is the biggest class day.
The bus system started in 1962 when Davidson Hall was built in Piscataway, Molenaar said. The system developed organically as the University grew.
“I know the improvements made are generally not seen within the typical timeframe of a student at Rutgers,” he said. “It also keeps us on our toes. It doesn’t matter what we did yesterday; we’re judged by what we do today. It’s the ultimate test, really, to make sure we continually improve. You’re not going to be complacent because you have no idea how it was in the past.”
In a room at transportation services, dispatch services interact with emergency communications to keep an eye on all routes and view accidents in the region to keep drivers informed, he said. Transportation uses a camera system to check on the routes and verify complaints.
The University began using the Nextbus system and installed the electronic notification signs in 2006. Prior to that, the University used whereismybus.com, a system Molenaar found less accurate. Before that, students had to rely on a set schedule.
“Students would come out and hope for the best. There was no information,” he said.
Nextbus gives students information and choices, Molenaar said. When a student knows they have eight minutes, they might grab a bite to eat or walk to another stop.
The bus system gives students experience and develops their independence as well, he said.
“Most Rutgers students — I’m generalizing — come from suburban communities where they were driven to everything that they’ve ever done,” Molenaar said. “Students have to think about how to actually get places. No one’s there to spoon-feed you.”
He said that as the semester trucks on, students figure out a way to use the buses in a fashion that suits them.
“People change their schedules based on when they can go,” he said. “It might be more convenient to go at the same time as everybody else, but when crowded, you might reconsider. I don’t go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving because I don’t want to have to deal with all that.”
At the Public Safety Building stop, Molenaar let an EE bus crammed with students pass.
“I don’t think we’re going to get on this one,” he said. “Wait four minutes or get really friendly.”
He said all the buses have a capacity limit and that students are generally good judges of when to wait for the next bus.
Molenaar squeezed onto the next EE. Due to the completion of Route 18 construction the EE now goes through downtown New Brunswick while the F takes Route 18 to College Avenue. The F now uses the large reticulated buses.
After listening to several students’ make small talk, Molenaar discussed the social benefits of transit.
“Riding the buses is one of the few things that every student has to do. You meet a lot of people on the bus. You end up having conversations with people you don’t know,” he said. “It’s a great equalizer.”
He caught the A from the stop at the Student Activities Center on the College Avenue campus.
School of Arts and Sciences junior Saiyid Rizvi said the A takes too much time to stop at the football stadium and other areas most students don’t use.
“I have to leave 20 minutes early just to get on the bus,” he said. “It takes half an hour to get over from College Avenue to the Hill Center. A BX [bus would help].”
Molenaar said every time he puts in new express buses people start requesting new stops.
Molenaar boarded the B from the Hill Center stop, a bus Molenaar observes being used the most often because students who have a class on Busch and then a class on Livingston have 20 minutes to get from class to class.
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences sophomore Joe Mychalczuk said he had no qualms with the bus system and figured out how to use the system quickly.
He spaced out the time periods between his classes so he wouldn’t have to bolt across campuses.
“I prefer that rather than rushing from class to class,” Mychalczuk said.
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy first-year student Serena Cheng said getting between campuses on weekends was time consuming.
“It’s really hard to get to Douglass from Livingston on weekends,” Cheng said.
But fewer buses run on weekends for financial reasons, Molenaar said.
“There are not as many people here,” he said. “To run the same system I would have to increase your transportation fee or cut service from somewhere else to do that.”
School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Jennifer Torres said she would like to see the express buses stop at the Henderson Apartments on Douglass campus.
Molenaar explained express buses are explicitly for academic stops.
After briefly allowing the REXL to stop at the Quads this spring, Molenaar discontinued the student requested stop.
“You look at input but it’s not the deciding factor,” he said. “There are also budget considerations that I have to consider. I mentioned that, as well as making sure that the system works for all students in a fair and equitable manner — especially since all students pay for half of the budget for the bus system.”
The REXL has 55 minutes to get students from Livingston campus to the Cook/Douglass campuses.
“This is one that if [it’s late,] students miss their class,” Molenaar said.
He picked up the REXL at the Livingston Student Center.
School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Allie Robertson spoke frankly about the hectic College Hall stop on Douglass campus.
“The College Hall stop sucks,” Robertson said. “Between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m. there are [about] 500 people at College Hall and a mad rush to get on the EE or F.”
Molenaar said he was aware of the crowding at the stop.
“We added more buses this semester than we ever had between that time period,” he said.
Molenaar said the stop is less frantic 15 or 20 minutes after classes let out and that students could go pick up a pack of pretzels or read books while the stop calms down.
After getting off the REXL, Molenaar walked back to the Public Safety Building, passing the College Hall stop where a multitude of students were peering down George Street, waiting for the next bus.
Molenaar clears up transportation myths on bus ride
Published: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
 "Photo: Ramon Dompor / Staff Photographer")
Ramon Dompor / Staff Photographer
Director of Transportation Services Jack Molenaar cites the B bus, which is an express traveling between the Busch and Livingston campus, as the most frequently used by students who have 20 minutes between classes.
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