Student president-elect pushes for bus system at Ithaca College

A proposal to launch a campus bus program that would curtail the number of auto commutes to and from Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y.,  is being given serious consideration thanks to the initiative of the incoming student government president.

Jeff Goodwin, who will take over the reins of Ithaca College’s Student Government Association in the fall, presented an outline of his plan a few weeks ago during an academic symposium that captured the interest of college administrators.

“It allowed them to get the basic concepts of my plan,” Goodwin said. “The next step is to finish my 50-page proposal, which will contain specifics about the plan, and to submit it to the administration.”

Goodwin said the idea of creating a campus shuttle at Ithaca has been kicked around for decades but has not generated any serious consideration. “All of them failed for one reason or another,” he said.

Goodwin, who’s majoring in international communications and TV-radio, is putting together the proposal as part of an independent studies project. Unlike earlier campus shuttle advocates, he is offering details about possible routing and scheduling, as well as cost considerations.

“In the past, the initiatives were more statements than proposals,” he said. “They didn’t offer projected costs or logistical details. I take it from a business perspective.”

In researching his proposal, Goodwin consulted with parking and transportation managers at three colleges — St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt.; University of Vermont in Burlington and State University of New York in Cortland.

Although he’s optimistic that administration officials will take a hard look at his proposal, Goodwin realizes that the required upfront capital investment will be difficult to justify during an economic downturn. “Despite everything working against it, I think it makes sense,” he said.