DOTS STUDENT EMPLOYEES
Posted October 20, 2008

On Thursday, October 16, 2008, the Diamondback published a story about a bus driver shortage at the Department of Transportation Services. It was reported that the Human Resources student employees were called upon to fill driving holes. No member of the DOTS student Human Resources staff is eligible to drive. In addition, the driver’s contract currently stipulates that the trained student driver provide the department with at least one semester of service, or face a $1000 fine. The contract provision was amended at the beginning of this calendar year from a two-semester requirement (as reported), because the department realizes that such a requirement can be a big commitment and may be counter-productive to recruitment.

CHANGE IN GREEN PERMIT QUALIFICATIONS
Posted October 20, 2008

In order to assist the University in its sustainability efforts and to aid it in the LEED certification of all new building construction, the Green Permit qualifying standards have been adjusted so that vehicles must qualify by the EPA's green vehicles standard. We understand that this is a change and a much stricter standard than previously advertised and do apologize for any inconvenience caused. For more information on the qualifying guidelines, please feel free to contact us at (301) 314-0183.

UNIVERSITY VIEW SHUTTLE POLICY REVISED
Posted October 6, 2008

The issue
In the last week, the Department of Transportation Services announced that University View identification would be required to ride that complex’s dedicated bus route between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. This policy was instituted to ensure that the students who live in this apartment complex, and whose monthly rent, no doubt, contribute to transportation, were given a fair opportunity to ride the special bus service that the complex has negotiated with the Department. University View makes a contribution that equates to approximately 66 percent of the cost of the University View and Blue routes. As these residents of the View also contribute to transportation costs in their mandatory fee, the Department picks up the remaining 33 percent of the cost of these routes. The rationale behind this policy was not to purposefully exclude other students in the area, but to ensure that persons who are paying for this route in multiple ways were able to take advantage of it.

 We are listening
However, we at the Department, have listened to the response from the student community, and realize that such a move, while ensuring that this portion of our community is being served, causes some hardship to students who live in the Route 1 area and who have come to depend on this particular bus to get to campus. Therefore, we have decided not to enact the policy of only admitting persons with University View identification. Effective, Monday, October 6, we will allocate extra resources during the peak travel times to ensure that no students are left behind.

Feedback
Thank you for your feedback and we think this is a working solution to this issue. If you have any further concerns, please feel free to e-mail us at dotsfeedback@umd.edu.

GREEN PERMIT AND ITS PURPOSE
Posted March 26, 2008

The issue
On March 11, 2008, the Diamondback reported that the Department of Transportation Services plans to offer a discounted Green Permit to drivers whose vehicles meet specified environmental standards. These drivers will receive a 33 percent discount on the cost of a parking permit.

Setting the record straight
The purpose of the Green Permit is two-fold. First, it will continue our efforts of giving incentive and rewarding those who use environmentally friendly methods to commute to and around campus. Such efforts include better lot choices for members of our carpooling program, free hours of Zipcar use and SmartTrip pre-tax benefits. Second, it serves as yet another reminder that we are all responsible for the state of our environment. This simple step of offering a discounted permit is a part of the larger University’s efforts to encourage environmentally aware and friendly citizens here on campus.

Understandably, there is some opposition and misconceptions about this permit, therefore here are the facts: