Texas State adds bigger shuttles to its fleet

Bigger maroon and gold buses are roaming the roads of San Marcos. Transportation Services introduced four new 60-foot articulated shuttles, each capable of carrying up to 100 students, almost double the passenger capacity of the current shuttles. Additionally, Texas State is adding six new 40-foot shuttles, the same size as the current ones but with an increased capacity of 75 passengers.

These articulated shuttles are replacing some of the current Texas State shuttles that have reached the end of their lifespan as defined by the Federal Transit Administration. The new buses will replace 10 non-functional buses in the fleet.

The current Bobcat Shuttle fleet is made up of 46 of the 40-foot buses that have a passenger capacity of up to 60 passengers, including those standing.

The articulated shuttles will only run on routes 10 (UFCU Stadium), 12 (Bobcat Village), 20 (Aquarena Springs) and 22 (Mill Street). The regular 40-foot buses will also still run on those routes.

“[Transdev] said these routes are the ones that are having a lot of students overflow so that’s why we chose those four specific routes,” Rodrigo Gonzales, manager of Texas State’s transit operations said.

Gonzales describes the 60-foot shuttles as buses that bend. The bus is split into two pieces that bend right down the middle, with a center turntable that connects the two parts.

“The newer buses will come with a newer engine, better GPS systems and better voice enunciation. So now when the bus is coming to a stop it will announce ‘now approaching this stop’,” Gonzales said.

Students riding the articulated buses still have to pull the yellow cord to signal when their stop is approaching, as drivers are not obligated to stop at every designated stop, Gonzales said.

Gonzales said one of the major reasons for bringing in the articulated shuttles is overcrowding.

Texas State’s Transportation Services has used the current fleet for around a decade, and according to the Federal Transit Administration, vehicles typically start to deteriorate after about 10 years.

Gonzales also pointed to the ongoing rise in university enrollment as a contributing factor to overcrowding. Texas State’s freshman class has set records for the past three years, with 7,910 students enrolling in fall 2023. The final numbers for fall 2024 will be available after census day on Sept. 11.

Gonzales said for the past two months drivers were testing the buses around town to see what roads they are unable to drive on.

“It’s also so that citizens and students get used to [the shuttles] because they’re so big,” Gonzales said. “We met with the city to see if the roads are wide enough and we’re at a good place right now.”

To accommodate the new articulated shuttles, drivers underwent specialized training on a closed course to ensure they were prepared to operate the larger vehicles. Texas State did not hire new drivers but trained those already employed.

Gonzales said the university hopes to eventually replace all 46 buses in the Bobcat Shuttle fleet but he said Texas State does not have the allocated funds to do so all at once.

Luis Barbosa, a political science sophomore and frequent shuttle user, relies on the bus daily to get from Speck Street Garage to class. He believes introducing the new shuttles as the freshman class arrives on campus would help alleviate the overcrowding issue.

“There’s probably more students starting class during the fall so this is a good time to do that so I feel very positive about it,” Barbosa said.

For information on the Bobcat Shuttle and its routes, students can visit its website or download the TXST app.