A DEPARTMENT IS UNIFIED
In August 2002, Shuttle-UM Tranist System and
the Department of Campus Parking merged to become the
Department of Transportation Services (DOTS) which
is a self-support agency under the staff supervision of the Vice President for Student
Affairs. DOTS is dedicated to providing service to the campus community through planning,
education, and enforcement. DOTS is the primary agency responsible for administering parking
and transit management programs on the College Park campus.
The primary activities of the Department of Transportation Services include: parking
registration for faculty, staff and students; parking enforcement; transit and charter operations;
departmental fleet vehicle and bus maintenance; development of programs relating to, and
promotion of, alternative transportation options; event parking; revenue and fine collection;
appeals processing; visitor parking; and facilities / lot maintenance.
An Effective Parking Management System
The former Department of Campus Parking was under the staff supervision of the Vice President for Student Affairs. From 1984, the former Campus Parking has been dedicated to providing service to the campus community through planning, education, and enforcement. It is the primary agency responsible for administering the parking management program on the College Park campus.
Primary activities of this portion of the now Department of Transportation Services include the registration of
all vehicles driven on campus by students, faculty, staff and visitors. Additionally, the
department has the responsibility of administratively processing parking violation notices
issued for illegal parking on the College Park campus.
Driving the Future
Shuttle-UM was created in November 1972 by members of the Black Student Union as a response
to violence on campus. Seeking a way for students to cross campus at night without walking
alone, the students purchased two vans and initiated two evening security routes. Students ran
Shuttle-UM operations out of a Leonardtown Community closet, before moving
to its current home at 13 Greenhouse Road in 1978. By 1979, service
had expanded to 10 routes and the fleet included 24 vehicles.
A staff of 58 students and one general manager were the driving
forces in this organization.
Over the years, Shuttle-UM continued its service expansion, adding routes, services,
and vehicles. By 1998, its ridership had grown to 1.1 million passengers and employed 125
student employees: drivers, managers, dispatchers, maintenance assistants, and trainers. The
service functioned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for most of the year. In addition to the
pride of keeping the University community moving, these students benefited from the experience of obtaining
a Commercial Driver’s License and operating and maintaining large transport vehicles. Also,
they acquired crucial supervisory, customer service and operational management skills.
Today, the Department of Transportation Services employs
320 employees, of whom 130 are student drivers, managers, dispatchers,
maintenance assistants and safety trainers among others; and
transports approximately 1.4 million passengers a year. |
