While use of the university bus system decreased slightly last year, the program is still an asset to UW-Eau Claire, said Parking and Transportation Services Coordinator Gary Bartlett.

During the 2003-04 school year, university busses transported 266,672 students. That number is down from the 278,524 students who used the service the year before, Bartlett said.

He attributed the slight decrease to a number of circumstances.

“Part of that is that we had students living in the downtown hotel,” Bartlett said. “We had about 60 students down there.”

In addition, he said nice weather often has an impact on whether or not students chose to ride the bus.

Sophomore Meghan Carlson said she rode the bus more last year than she has so far this semester.

“Last year I used it practically every day,” she said. “This year I (ride the bus) about once a week.” Carlson used the bus more because she lived in Oakridge, she said. Now, she lives in Governors and it’s a shorter walk to lower campus.

The Eau Claire City Transit, of which the university bus system is a sector, did not mirror the decrease in ridership. The Eau Claire Transit Commission reported a .01 percent increase in use last year, despite a 10 percent service cut, at its meeting Wednesday night.

In addition, while the transit system was included on a list of 48 possible city service cuts, Transit Manager Gwen Van Den Heuvel said elimination of the service is not by any means imminent.

City Councilman Hal Davis attended Wednesday’s meeting. He said the main concern of city residents is an increase in property taxes. In order for taxes to remain at their current level, he said, some services must be cut.

“If you walk around door to door like I did campaigning, tax increases are on everybody’s mind,” Davis said. He also said the council will consider which cuts will “cause the least hurt.”

Bartlett said elimination of the transit service would negatively affect the university.

“I think the City Council recognizes that this is one of the types of services that are needed in the city of Eau Claire,” Bartlett said.

The university has run its bus system since 1997, and student use is up overall from the program’s initial year, Bartlett said.

Transit Commission Vice-Chair John Stupak said riding the campus bus is now more of a societal norm than it once was.

“I think it’s become culturally more acceptable,” he said.

Bartlett said that the agreement the university has with the city is cost effective for both parties.

The university currently has a five-year contract with the city transit. This year, UW-Eau Claire is paying $182,500 for bus service. This works out to cost each student about $19.50 per year, Bartlett said.

Van Den Heuvel said students really are using the public transportation at a discounted rate, as the cost for a monthly regular adult pass is $34. But, she said, the City Transit Commission is glad to serve university students.

“We haven’t approached it as a money maker,” Van Den Heuvel said. “We’re just looking to cover our costs.”