Getting around campus just got better
Otter Trolley
New shuttle improves service for students starting Aug. 22
Otter Trolleys will soon provide shuttle service every eight minutes on the main campus at CSU Monterey Bay. And that’s good news for the wallet, student life, campus safety and the university’s sustainability commitments.
The service will begin on Aug. 22, to coincide with the start of the semester, and will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Information and schedules will be available at various campus locations, on the web, and at MST.org by Aug. 19.
The Otter Trolleys replace the white shuttle vans operated by the university’s Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS). East Campus residents can now use Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) buses on Lines 16 and 25 to travel to main campus. Those lines will pick up passengers at all previous shuttle stops in East Campus every 30 minutes from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The buses will be able to accommodate bikes, skateboards, surfboards and wheelchairs – making them much more commuter-friendly than the vans.
The CSUMB Riders Guide will be available Sept. 17, when MST implements a system-wide service change.
The changes were made to provide more and better services to the campus community. Student fees paid most of the costs for the shuttle. Now, for the same amount of money, these services are available:
• More frequent main campus shuttle service on the Otter Trolleys, which includes new stops at the University Center and Visual and Public Art buildings. The shuttle will be allowed on the Sixth Avenue pedestrian mall, but the mall will remain closed to other vehicles.
• Late night service – until 2 a.m. – between CSUMB and Monterey and Marina every Friday and Saturday night on MST Line 16. The service includes a stop at Del Monte Center in Monterey.
• UPASS, which gives everyone with an Otter ID free, unlimited rides on all MST routes, simply by flashing their ID card. That covers a territory from Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County to San Jose’s Diridon CalTrain station (with a shuttle hop to the airport).
• Students with disabilities get the same benefit on MST RIDES – they can get anywhere MST buses go, for free.
Other options to get to campus include ride sharing (see commutealternatives.org, or the Otter Rideshare Board in the Student Center), biking, or calling MST On-Call a few hours in advance to get a ride for a small fee.
The campus now boasts 3.8 miles of bike boulevards, designed to give priority to bicycles in the roadways, provide traffic calming benefits and improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. The boulevards are identified by bike decals placed in the roadway and signs along the route.
A bike boulevard is a shared right-of-way. The decals and signs provide a visual reminder to motorists that they need to watch for bicyclists.
“The decals indicate to bicyclists that this is the best route to travel. And it tells drivers to slow down. It’s a share-the-road campaign,” said campus transportation planner Megan Tolbert.
The bike boulevards are Seventh Avenue between A Street and Inter-Garrison Road; A Street from Seventh, past the library and down Divarty Street to Second Avenue; Fifth Avenue between Inter-Garrison and Divarty; and Inter-Garrison from Seventh to General Jim Moore Boulevard.
The Night Walk service will continue to be provided by TAPS. Night Walk is available to people who want a friendly escort to the bus stop, parking lot or bike rack to ensure safety. Call 582-3573 to arrange for the service.
The shuttle route is available online at CSUMB.EDU/maps. For more information about this program or the bus route schedules, visit TRIPwise online at CSUMB.EDU/trip, MST’s website at mst.org, or call Megan Tolbert at 582-4262.
100 Campus Center
