Shepherd University SGA President Paul Teter sent out an email asking all Shepherd University students to take an online survey assessing the usefulness of the Eastern Panhandle Transportation Association (EPTA) bus services (Ram Force One and Ram Express) to students, due to the possible cancellation of the service. It was determined that almost all Shepherd students who completed the survey find EPTA to be useful service, and its cancellation would be detrimental to their success on campus.
After the results were counted, 445 Shepherd students completed the survey, with the majority being students who live on campus. The survey had 14 questions, covering the frequency of use by the students, times of day the EPTA are most utilized, quality of service, and reason for use. Results show that Shepherd students use EPTA mostly for getting to class and Rams Den due to parking issues on campus, and about half of the survey group was willing to pay a fee if necessary to continue the implementation of the EPTA bus services. Some Shepherd Students allowed The Picket to interview them about their opinions on the EPTA and the survey questions. Student Jamie Kemman said, “I think it’s super useful, like crucial,” when asked about EPTA’s usefulness. When Grace Summerbell was asked about a possible $90 fee to keep EPTA running a Shepherd she said, “I don’t think we should have to because EPTA is so useful to so many students on this campus.” If you want to hear more opinions from Shepherd students regarding the continuation of EPTA, go to Picket Instagram. However, Shepherd admin did not reply for a comment.
The over-arching consensus among Shepherd Students is that the EPTA are vital to their academic and personal success on campus with 94% of students surveyed saying they use the bus to get to class, and 71% of students use the bus to get to Rams Den. 19% of Shepherd students answered that they use, or have used, EPTA due to disability and injury.
However, the students surveyed felt that the hours of operation needed to be adjusted slightly to work more efficiently for the student body on Shepherd’s campus. Average ridership per hour shows that students use the bus most between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
As of right now, the survey information has not been released publicly, and Shepherd students do not have any further information regarding the continuation of EPTA and if there will be a fee in the future. However, there was an EPTA Focus Group meeting on March 19 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Fireside Bistro for students to discuss EPTA.
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