Parking and Transit Services is launching new shuttle services that will include double-decker buses and single-level buses with new amenities to serve students that will be available in the spring semester.
Divine Transportation will be operating these vehicles. The double decker buses will include two doors for increased access and two stair cases. They will have laminate flooring and upgraded Wi-Fi. USB charging ports and standard power outlets for every seat.
Assistant director of commuter options JC Porter said he thinks this a better option for students to get around because the new double-decker shuttle increases capacity by more than 33 percent.
"So we are going from 54 seated passengers to 81," he said. "These are the same buses Facebook and Google use to get their passengers back and forth from the Bay Area."
Porter said the reason for the change in shuttle buses is the rising student population and the need for increased capacity. The new buses will cost the same as the ones being used at this time, Porter said.
PTS offered a ride-along Tuesday with the new buses for students to try out starting from the Tempe campus to the Downtown campus.
Kinesiology freshman Hailey Persons said she takes the shuttle every day from the West campus to downtown and sometimes struggles to get on during peak rush hour.
"Sometimes it's hard to find a seat or you have to stand and even if you do get a seat it's really cramped," she said.
Persons said she is excited for the new double-decker shuttle busses.
"I think it's awesome," she said. "I think it's going to allow a lot more people to ride and have more comfort and more space."
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
