Commuting to campus can become less of a hassle with new transportation options provided from the campus and city.
Since Fresno State is located in the “heart” of the Central Valley, the university has a large percentage of students that commute to campus. A large issue for these commuting students is having reliable transportation to and from class.
Both the university and the City of Fresno are aiding students with two transportation options — a new “Fax-15” program and the Bulldog Express system.
Earlier this month, the City of Fresno launched the new FAX-15 program. The new system will bring 20 newly designed buses to travel up and down Shaw and Cedar avenues, which are two of the busiest streets around the university.
The stop will be 15-minute wait lines rather than their original 30-minute times. The busses that will hold up to 50 passengers and have covered windows with a flashy “FAX-15” logo.
University President Dr. Joseph Castro said the addition to transportation options is a positive contribution to student and staff success.
“Our students, our faculty and our staff will be able to utilize an even better transportation option to get them to get their classes on time and ready to learn and to teach,” Castro said.
Along with the new look of the buses, the bus stop shelters along Cedar and Shaw avenues will be replaced to brand new glass ones.
Bulldog Express is the on-campus shuttle service that was introduced last year as a transportation service to locations in and around campus. The shuttle system has grown to two shuttles that work between 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Students can now track when and where the shuttle’s current location and estimated arrival times with the Fresno State Mobile App.
Kayle Kaesbauer, a first year nutrition major, has been using Bulldog Express since last semester. She has a car and rides a skateboard but has found the shuttle to be very convenient.
“Everyone is pretty friendly, the ladies are always welcoming you on board and thanking you for going,” Kaesbauer said.
Scheduling is an issue Kaesbauer thinks that could be improved in future for a better Bulldog Express experience. This comes after many students were not informed that shuttles stopped running a week before school ended for winter break.
“I did wait here a good thirty minutes because I didn’t know it was out of service,” Kaesbauer said.
Kaesbauer also plays on the lacrosse team and uses the app whenever she is across the street from campus to see when the next shuttle will arrive. She said that she is glad that the service is free and saving gas from not having to drive to different spots throughout her day.
“Everyone’s been pretty nice and they always ask at stops if people are going to stop, and if not they’ll go to make it more convenient,” Kaesbauer said.