In collaboration with the Student Government Association, Transportation and Parking Services recently optimized UGA bus routes to improve transportation service to the campus community.
Riders will see changes to four UGA bus routes: Health Sciences, Milledge, Riverbend-South Milledge and Vet Med. Changes also have been made to Athens Transit bus routes. Visit the ACC website (https://bit.ly/2Oz50u3) for bus route information.
Bus routes
- Health Sciences route. To increase frequency of bus service, the number of stops serviced on Prince Avenue has changed to three.
In place of on-demand stopping, the buses always now stop at the UGA President’s House on Grady Avenue, Delta Tau Delta on Nacoochee Street and the Piedmont/ARMC stops on Prince Avenue. Athens Transit will service any stops that were removed from the UGA route.
The Health Sciences route will service southbound Milledge Avenue with stops at Lucy Cobb, Clarke Central High School, Springdale Street and Oakland Avenue.
- Milledge route. This route was redesigned to allow buses to make more right-hand turns, therefore reducing traffic congestion and increasing the frequency at which buses can provide service.
The Milledge route will service the northbound side of Milledge. The Health Sciences route will service the southbound side of Milledge. In response to campus feedback, the Milledge route now includes service to the Tate Center.
- Riverbend-South Milledge route. Two 15 passenger vans will be placed into service by the spring semester. This change creates efficiency by redirecting larger buses to routes with higher demand.
- Vet Med route. This route now serves the new park and ride lot (see story).
To improve traffic flow and safety on College Station Road, UGA buses will no longer stop at the Visitors Center. Service for this area will be provided at the University Health Center stop on northbound East Campus Road.
More information on the fall 2018 UGA bus route changes can be found online at https://tps.uga.edu/fall-2018-route-changes.
Parking permits, pay stations
Transportation and Parking Services expanded its License Plate Recognition program to include the Hull Street and Performing Arts Center parking decks as well as surface lots E02, E03, E09, E10, E20, E23, HSC, S03, W01, W02, W05, W06, W07, W12, W14, W15 and W16.
LPR technology allows permit holders to use their license plate as their permit. It also led to the removal of gates at the Hull Street and PAC decks. Two new pay stations are now installed in the Hull Street and PAC decks (one in each facility).
Visitors to these areas may use the pay stations to prepay for parking, however, parking deck attendants are still available to assist drivers.
Transportation and Parking vehicles with permit readers check for valid permits and prepaid customers as they drive through the decks.
Parking space counter
Transportation and Parking Services also is testing new technology to communicate parking space availability to the public. The Tate Student Center deck is serving as the test location for this new technology.
If the project is accepted, the department will move forward with implementing the parking space counting system in other campus parking decks.
The parking space counting system will allow individuals to check the number of available parking spaces on the UGA app as well as the Transportation and Parking Services website.
UGA TPS is partnering with the Student Government Association on this initiative to provide improved customer service to campus.
