Joey tracker expected by end of year

The University is investigating technology that would allow students to track the University shuttle, in response to complaints about the frequency of bus service between the campus and Davis Square.

"A lot of people have come to the Senate complaining about the Joey," Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Chike Aguh said. "They have been frustrated with how there is no real schedule for the shuttle and many times people do not know if it will just be faster for them to walk instead of waiting."

Over the summer, Aguh and other TCU senators investigated products that would allow the shuttle to be tracked using satellites.

The project would involve installing a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver aboard the bus, which would transmit location information to screens at each of the shuttle stops, as well as the Tufts Today flat-panel screens located across campus. Senators hope that students will eventually be able to track the shuttle from their own computers.

Aguh has met with Executive Administrative Dean Wayne Bouchard and the Department of Public Safety to determine the University's interest in the system. The bus-board equipment would cost approximately $2,500 and the screens at shuttle shops would cost $3,000 each.

Bouchard was enthusiastic about the idea and said he hopes that it will be put in place. "Based on what I know about the technology thus far," Bouchard said, "I would say that there's a good chance that we will pursue this [project] further."

If all goes according to plan, Aguh said, students will be able to track the shuttle by the end of the school year.

According to Aguh, the Department of Public Safety is currently determining whether Joseph's Limousine, the company that runs the shuttle, is willing to install the equipment and assessing the legality of the project.

The owner of Joseph's, Jerry DeBari, was not aware of student complaints about the shuttle and had not been contacted about installing the tracking device.

Shuttle schedules are currently posted at the shuttle stops and on TuftsLife.com. The student portal also proposed a similar tracking system last year.