The shuttle system for St. Joseph’s University currently begins its runs in front of the Sourin Residence Hall at five minutes and thirty-five minutes after the hour. The R5 Septa line stops at the Overbrook train station on the hour and on the half hour. For this reason, I believe the shuttle system should begin its runs later in order to somewhat coordinate its schedule with the train schedule. If I want to take the shuttle to the train station, currently I have to wait about fifteen to twenty minutes between the time the shuttle arrives at the Overbrook station and the time the train arrives. Alternatively, I usually choose to walk to the train station instead because then I have an extra ten minutes before I need to leave Sourin to catch the train. I do not need to start walking towards the train station until fifteen minutes or forty-five minutes after the hour. When it becomes colder out, I can see problems with both having to walk to the train station and having to wait for the train to come if I take the shuttle.
I understand that the reason the shuttle currently comes at five and thirty-five minutes after the hour is because that gives students time to get from class to Sourin and then take the shuttle wherever they need to go. Most classes end at fifty minutes after the hour, so fifteen minutes gives students adequate time to get from almost anywhere on the campus to Sourin by five minutes after the hour. Other classes end at times like fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, and forty-five minutes after the hour. The current shuttle times also give students coming from these classes a fair amount of time to arrive at Sourin before the shuttle comes.
If the shuttle were to come at fifteen minutes and forty-five minutes after the hour, then students going to the train station would not have to wait as long for the train to come. Another positive outcome from this change would be that students coming from classes would have an extra ten minutes before the shuttle comes. This would give them time to talk to a teacher after class, stop at the library to print a paper, or finish any tasks they need to do before the shuttle comes. They would not be in as much of a rush to make it to Sourin in time. I believe this change in the shuttle schedule would benefit all students and allow them to make better use of this convenience.
