Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, June 3, 1988
'U' adds six new
buses to fleet
BY JULIE ZIEGLER
Most University buses are older
than the undergraduates who ride
them. That's why Transportation
Services has added six new, grey-
maize-and-blue buses to the 36-bus
fleet
The average University bus is
about 20 years old, said Patrick
Cunningham, manager of Trans-
portation Services. He said replacing
the buses has been his priority since
> he joined the department in Decem-
a. her 1986.
"When I came over, that was my
number-one goal," he said.
- . Cunningham said buying new
buses was more feasible than repair-
ing the old ones, because the origi-
nal parts were guaranteed for only 15
years and are now difficult to obtain.
During the next year Cunning-
ROBIN LOZNAK/Daily ham said he hopes to buy another
six buses, and eventually wants to
Students work to beat the heatwave which struck Ann Arbor this week by relaxing poolside replace the entire fleet within the
at Fuller Pool. next five years, as the budget allows.
Flxible, the manufacturer of the
H o mm e 0 old buses, made the most reasonable
o me A S rec cneo t hm bid at $145,000 per new bus, Cun-
r~o Viible sa ningham said.
BY MALI PURKAYA ST HA Cathy Zick, director of the Ann Ar- center for the homeless, "and it's Becky R ossow, a s al1es
The number of homeless people bor Shelter Association. very difficult to find a job without
talking on the Diag, sleeping on In fact, Zick said, the housing marketable skills, especially when crowded," said a homeless man on
benches, or sitting on the steps of situation improves slightly over the there are so many other competent the Diag, who asked to remain
Angell Hall seems to increase during summer, because the student exodus individuals on the job market." anonymous.
the summer, many students say. makes available more affordable Contrary to many people's be- Campus security has not noticed
"I see them everywhere, just housing. When students return in the liefs, Owens said, as much as 30 an increase in the homeless popula-
roaming around, especially on the fall, the subletters find themselves percent of the homeless are em- tion on campus, said Robert Pifer,
Diag, and even at the laundromat," homeless again. ployed, but cannot afford a house assistant director of Public Safety
said LSA junior Maria Ansari. "Because this is a university because of a combination of low and Security.
But the local homeless popula- town, the housing market is targeted wages and Ann Arbor's high cost of "If we do encounter homeless in-
tion's high visibility is the result of towards the students' level of in- living. dividuals inside University build-
warmer weather, rather than an in- come," said Zelba Owens, coordina- "The problem is that the cost of ings, we notify them of the location
crease in the population itself, said tor of the Ashley Center, a support living has increased but that the of shelters in Ann Arbor; if they are
minimum wage of $3.35 an hour unable to walk there or if it's late at
has not increased proportionately, so night, then we try to provide them
W E O R K AS that it is almost impossible for with a ride," Pifer said.
someone bringing home $300 a Although many believe the in-
month to survive," Owens said. creased visibility results from an in-
LA TE A S YO U D O The number of homeless that the flux of homeless from other cities,
shelters house increases during the Owens said, most are from Ann Ar-
winter, rather than during the sum- bor.
mer, because colder temperatures In a recent survey of 180 home-
force people indoors, Zick said. less, Owens said, 133 were from
kinko' "It's really good here in the Ann Arbor, 37 from Ypsilanti and
summer, because there are less stu- the rest were from outside Ann Ar-
dents, and the campus is less bor.
representative from the Kalamazoo-
based Great Lakes Coach Sales Co.,
said the price falls into the average
range for new buses of that type.
The buses, called transit coaches,
are designed to travel a short distance
while carrying many passengers.
Some stay in service for up to 19
hours per day, Cunningham said.
The buses service both North and
central campuses.
The futuristic-looking, colorful
buses were chosen for their improved
aerodynamics, Cunningham said.
The new buses are driven by se-
nior, full-time bus drivers, who have
first choice of which buses they
drive, Cunningham said.
Mike Phillips, president of the
Michigan Student Assembly, sup-
ported the decision to replace aging
buses. He added that he would like to
see Transportation Services address
the lack of 24-hour North Campus
bus service.
Transportation Services expanded
bus service from 2:15 a.m. to 3:00
a.m. on Thursdays and weekends this
year, but Cunningham said the
weekday ridership was too low to
merit further expansion.
SSC
Continued from Page 3
conduct research in Michigan and
provide a scientific resource for Uni-
versity physicists and students.
If Michigan receives the site, said
Gov. James Blanchard at a press
conference Tuesday, "We would be
the center of high-energy physics in
the world for the rest of our lives."
But a few Stockbridge residents
protested the visit because the SSC
would displace them from their
homes.
Though the state offered such
residents compensation for movine.
Mason resident Jay Jenkinis, who
says he will have to move to make
room for the collider, said it was a
"token gesture. I can't duplicate my
house anywhere else."
At the press conference, Rep. Bob
Carr (D-Mich) noted that Michigan
has three representatives in the U.S.
House Appropriations Committee,
the panel responsible for allocating
SSC funds. Thus, the committee
may be more likely to choose
Michigan as a site.
Rad
and
Ceatoi ed6
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