University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: January 17, 2008

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

The university’s North, South and downtown campuses now have a transportation link, thanks to a new shuttle line, as well as an expansion of a current line.

Blue Line shuttle route: 1. Allen Medical Campus Metro Rail station; 2. Research Institute on Addictions; 3. Center of Excellence; 4. Educational Opportunity Center; 5. EOC building 2; 6. Allen Metro Rail station; 7. Jacobs Executive Development Center; 8. Ross Eye Institute

The Orange Line, which provides service from one end of the South Campus to the other, including the Park & Ride lots, now features a stop at the Allen Medical Campus Metro Rail station as part of its regular route. From the Allen station, located at the intersection of Main and Allen streets, riders may walk to UB’s downtown offices or catch the new Blue Line, which provides service to those offices.

The Blue Line operates from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday when UB offices are open, and connects all UB units located in downtown Buffalo, including the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, the Research Institute on Addictions, the Educational Opportunity Center, the Jacobs Executive Development Center and the Ross Eye Institute. Riders must show their UB Card or identification badge from one of UB’s downtown locations to board the shuttle.

Members of the campus community wishing to travel from the North to the South Campus may continue to use the UB Stampede buses, which can be boarded at the Ellicott Complex or the Flint Loop. Access to the Orange Line is available at the Stampede’s South Campus stops at the Main Circle and Goodyear Hall.

To view schedules and routes for the Orange and Blue lines, as well as the North Campus shuttles (Red, Green and Yellow), go to the Parking and Transportation Web site.

Maria Wallace, director of Parking and Transportation Services, explains that with the university’s commitment to UB 2020 and the growth of the downtown campus—UB’s purchase of the M. Wile building soon will bring more members of the university community downtown to work and study—a convenient transportation connection between all three campuses was needed.

“Many faculty and staff members who have already moved their offices to our downtown campus welcome the convenience this transit alternative provides,” Wallace says.

It also offers medical students with responsibilities at UB’s affiliated hospitals downtown “a transit alternative that many have requested over the years,” she says, noting that she hopes to have stops at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Women and Children's Hospital, and Buffalo General Hospital added to the Blue Line route within weeks.

Moreover, with the shuttle expansion, faculty, staff and students who live adjacent to the downtown campus or within the Blue Line route can hop the shuttle to travel to the South and North campuses and leave their vehicles at home. “With gas prices today, that is becoming more and more appealing,” she says.

There also are some members of the UB community “who still are unaware of the current activities downtown and the promise of growth for UB and our impact on Western New York,” she points out.

The new shuttle service provides them with “the opportunity to travel downtown, learn more about our downtown campus and embrace the idea of three rich, vibrant and connected campuses within one university,” Wallace says. “I hope they will use the service to visit.”

She says that riders already have requested additions to the Blue Line route, and she says the route will be revisited in a few weeks “to ensure it meets users’ needs.”

“We envision this to be a work in progress, which will change and grow as we continue to do so,” Wallace adds. She encourages riders to provide feedback about the service by sending an email to ub-bussing@buffalo.edu or by calling 645-7329.