Shuttles for students

Freshman acting major Cassidy Adkins would not know what to do if a university shuttle were not available six times a week to transport her to the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland.

"It's much more reliable than public transportation, which isn't always available," Adkins said.

With the lack of on-campus facilities, such as a theater or sports arena, available to Point Park University students and the costs of parking and public transportation rising, the university's shuttles play an important role in transporting students to off-site facilities that fulfill those needs. In addition to offering transportation to and from the Playhouse and sports facilities, such as the baseball field in McKees Rocks, shuttles also provide transportation to the airport during breaks, as well as trips to the Waterfront. Pittsburgh Filmmakers students even use the shuttles to get to Filmmakers' Shadyside location, and vans are also available for field trips.

Destinations are identified by a specially colored flag displayed outside the driver's window. Shuttles depart across from Alumni Park on Third Avenue on the YWCA side of the street. Upon boarding, students must present their student ID to the driver. Transportation is free for Point Park students.

Jan Pekar, director of transportation and administrative services, oversees the 18 drivers, eight Dodge Ram vans and five mini-buses that make up the shuttle fleet. She makes certain that the shuttles are safe and students are transported to their proper destinations. Drivers undergo a rigorous hiring process, including classroom training and signing a release form that allows employer accessibility to driving records and reports.

Shuttles are equipped with mobile Internet and GPS capability, although the mobile Internet is used more for tracking shuttles in case there is a problem. Drivers often call to alert Pekar of any possible delays via traffic notification services such as PennDOT.

"If there's a disruption in the schedule, there's a good reason -- usually traffic," Pekar said. "I will pull a vehicle if there's a safety issue. I don't play games."

David Vinski, the managing director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, has been involved with Point Park's off-campus theater since 1986. He remembers a time when those responsible for driving the shuttles were 21-year-old Point Park seniors. Back then, shuttles did not run on a continuous loop, and seniors would drop off and pick up students only a few times a day depending on when classes began and ended.

When the university's student population increased and more students became enrolled in classes Downtown and in Oakland, the new class schedule conflicted with the senior drivers' schedules and part-time drivers outside the school were hired to keep up with the increase of students riding the shuttles.

Still, the reason for the shuttles' existence remains the same: a convenient way for students to get to the Playhouse.

"My job is to design the shuttle schedule so that kids aren't late for the show," Vinski said.

Throughout the day, students are dropped off multiple times per hour during the shuttle loop. When it is time for the Playhouse to close for the night, security guards keep drivers informed of the number of students who still need rides back to Point Park.

As for how the shuttle fleet might be impacted by the growth of the school's Academic Village, the plans of which include developing on-campus athletic facilities and relocating Point Park's play productions to an on-campus theater, Vinski said he is not an expert.

"I have a feeling that it's going to take awhile," Vinski said. "I don't see that happening for some years down the road."

According to Pekar, students taking advantage of all the transportation options Point Park shuttles have to offer are recording in logs. She remains confident that the Academic Village will not put a damper on the fleet.

"Right now, the majority of the students using the shuttles are those going to the Playhouse. But based on my past experience, there's always been a shift between Filmmakers, athletics, Waterfront, etc.," Pekar said.

For more information regarding transportation services or to sign up for the use of a shuttle, check out Point Park's Web site or call Jan Pekar at 412-392-3495.

For those who have used the shuttles and may have lost an item onboard, there is a lost and found box at the security desk and in the office for Transportation Services located on the seventh floor of the Bank Tower on Fourth Avenue.