The Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit bus system reported an increased ridership level in 2005 over the year before. The period from October to December 2005 showed particular gains of over 15 to 20 percent from the same months in 2004.
Dwight Mengel, TCAT service development manager, said that TCAT carried 3,080,000 passengers in 2005, an increase from the 2,738,998 passengers recorded in 2004.
Certain popular routes experienced an even higher rate of growth. Route 10, which runs from campus to the Ithaca Commons every 10 minutes during weekdays, saw ridership increase 58 percent over 2004, while route 81, which runs between Cornell’s A Lot and B Lot, carried a passenger load 25 percent larger than last year’s.
To cope with the strain on the system of higher passenger numbers, TCAT obtained $142,000 in additional funding from New York State.
TCAT, in a December press release, attributed the high numbers to the rising cost of gasoline in the past year. Mengel said that Cornell faculty and staff showed a 64 percent growth rate, suggesting that more elected to use the bus rather than their cars.
The University pays fares for all faculty and staff within TCAT’s zone one, which encompasses all of campus.
Mengel said the free OmniRide bus passes that the University distributed to freshmen and new transfer students at the beginning of the fall semester may have also contributed to an increase in ridership. These passes were given to every incoming student who agreed not to purchase a parking permit as a result of the agreement reached between the University and the Redbud Woods activists in July 2005.
Eyden Reinhardt ’09, who received a bus pass in August, said that he uses his pass “every day” to get around campus. If the free bus pass program were cancelled in the future, he would most likely buy one.
“I’d probably buy one [in the future], if [the University] decides not to give them to us,” Reinhardt said.
An annual bus pass costs $200 if purchased through the University or $495 if bought directly from TCAT. Only students are eligible for the subsidized price.
TCAT was reorganized at the beginning of 2005 into a non-profit corporation formed from the former partnership between the University, the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County. It operates 38 routes that run through the entire county.
By January 27, 2006
Prof. Daniel J. Decker ’74, natural resources, was appointed to lead Cornell’s newly-formed Office of Land-Grant Affairs (OLGA) at the New York State Agricultural Society’s annual meeting in Syracuse, Jan. 6. The office, a part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will continue Cornell’s effort to further organize and fulfill its obligations as a land-grant institution.
“In his new role as director of OLGA, Dan will provide oversight, coordination, coaching, assistance and resources for the college’s portfolio of engagement activities with selected stakeholder organizations,” said Susan A. Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the agriculture school, according to an article published in The Cornell Chronicle on Jan. 23.
As a natural resources professor, Decker has specialized in the integration of human thought and natural theory with wildlife policy and management. At the time of his appointment, he was researching stakeholder engagement in communal wildlife management, along with humans’ impact on natural environments. These topics coincide with his new position, which will address modern concerns regarding the effects of new technology on the ever-shrinking wilderness.
“Food and agriculture remain major global issues of importance to CALS, but today’s land-grant mission in the college has broadened in response to society’s concerns and emerging technologies,” said Decker, according to The Chronicle’s article.
He continued, “Every day, faculty, researchers and extension educators at CALS apply their talents and energies to improving people’s lives and responding to society’s changing needs. Our goal as a college is to help our faculty and staff be effective leaders, active collaborators and valued partners in a spectrum of efforts to address critical needs of society.”
As part of his new position, Decker will both choose representatives for Cornell and act as one himself for various boards across the state that shape and affect public policy. He will also work with the directors of both the agriculture college’s experimental stations and Cornell Cooperative Extension to focus on current and potential benefits the college can provide for the state of New York and its citizens.
“We are very proud of CALS’s 100-plus years of service to Cornell’s land-grant mission and look forward to continuing that tradition,” he said, according to The Chronicle.
Decker taught at Cornell for 20 years after receiving his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from the University. He joined the Department of Natural Resources in 1976 as a research support specialist, then slowly moved up the ranks until he was named assistant professor in 1988. He was promoted to full professor in 1998 after serving as chair of natural resources from 1993 to 1996. From 1996 to 2001 he served as associate director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (CUAES). Since then, he has served as associate dean of the agriculture college and full director of CUAES.