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Transportation Fee Information

Background

The transportation fee provides support for operating SBU Transit Services for the University community between a variety of destinations on West, East, South, and Southampton Campuses, as well as the R&D Park, throughout the calendar year. SBU Transit provides transportation seven days per week and offers between five and seven transit routes daily, depending on the University academic calendar. In calendar year 2012-13, SBU Transit vehicles will travel over 500,000 service miles and provide approximately 54,000 service hours to University passengers.

The transportation fee provides support for operating SBU Transit, which includes support for service staffing, vehicle maintenance/repair, procurement of new vehicles, facility upgrades, regulatory compliance requirements, vehicle fuel and office supplies. In addition to transit operations, the transportation fee provides support for bus stop shelters, signage/maps, University bike initiatives, SBU Wolf Ride Bike Share, Suffolk Transit Connection support and student parking lot maintenance/additions.

Student Benefits

  • Students can use the SBU Transit Service on an unlimited basis.
  • SBU Transit Service operates seven days per week/354 days per year and is designed to meet the needs of all students, including commuters and residents.
  • SBU Transit operates seven weekday and five weekend transit routes to over 30 inter- and intra-campus destinations.
  • On Fall and Spring semester weekdays, the SBU Transit Service begins daily service at 5:30 am and ends service at 12:30 am.
  • The SBU Transit Service provides transportation service in lieu of students using their personal vehicles at the University, thereby lowering student's fuel and maintenance costs.
  • SBU Transit offers transportation to over 30 destinations located on West, East, South, and Southampton Campuses, as well as to and from the Research & Development Park.
  • SBU Transit offers enhanced weekend service between the Long Island Railroad Stony Brook train station and a variety of destinations on both East and West Campuses.
  • SBU Transit offers the Suffolk Transit Connection, which is available free to students on Saturdays.
  • Students use SBU Transit maps, transit shelters, and transit signage to help meet their transportation needs.
  • The fee supports SBU Transit Service improvement initiatives, including the installation of passenger communication systems and related infrastructure.
  • The fee supports SBU Wolf Ride Bike Share and biking initiatives, including the purchasing of bike racks and related infrastructure in order to enhance the biking culture at SBU.
  • SBU Wolf Ride Bike Share is available to students free for the first 60 minutes of each trip and is operated throughout the calendar year.
  • The fee ensures that transit vehicles meet annual regulatory and environmental compliance requirements.
  • The fee provides support for the creation of commuter student parking spaces, as well as for the maintenance of commuter parking lots.

Transportation Fee Expenditures

Transportation Fee Area Percentage of Fee
Personel/SBU Transit Staffing 56.08%
New Transit Vehicles 7.78%
Transit Vehicle Parts, Maintenance, Compliance & Towing 4.53%
Commuter Parking Lots 0.34%
Bus Shelters, Signage, Maps & Communications 4.19%
SBU Transit Facility Maintenance, Operations & Upgrades 15.98%
Sustainable Transportation - SBU Biking & Operations Partnerships 5.45%
Fuel 5.65%
Chart of Transportation Fee Distribution

Transportation Fee Summary

The Department of Transportation and Parking Operations actively encourages the Stony Brook University community to provide feedback on our services through the Transportation & Parking Advisory Group and through online feedback. For 2013-14, the Department of Transportation & Parking Operations is recommending an increase to the transportation fee in order to:

  • Enable SBU Transit to continue offering similar levels of transportation service to the University.
  • Enable SBU Transit to continue with implementing sustainable transportation initiatives, which includes offering the Suffolk Transit Connection.
  • Enable SBU Transit to better communicate with passengers utilizing SBU Smart Transit in order to improve their transportation experience.
  • Allow SBU Transit to better maintain service vehicles, in order to lower overall fuel and maintenance expenses, increase sustainability and lower environmental impact.
  • Allow for further improvements to be made to commuter student parking, SBU Wolf Ride Bike Share and other biking initiatives at the University.