Adrian Hernandez/THE RIDER
UTRGV students have experienced longer drop-off times and wait times throughout the beginning of the fall semester as traffic and campus activity affect transit, according to a university official.
There are currently a total of 23 VOLT carts and 5 vans, with 15 carts and one van on the Edinburg campus and 8 carts and five vans on the Brownsville campus.
Maribel Contreras, director of transportation services, said that the frequency of the VOLT on the Edinburg campus is about 15 minutes, while on the Brownsville campus frequency is 20 minutes.
“The beginning of each semester typically brings an increase of traffic … with high ridership,” Contreras said. “There’s also traffic incidents and there’s greater activity around the campus.”
She added that at the beginning of the semester, students are still finalizing and adjusting to their schedules while also working around university events on campus.
“Those conditions can directly affect the transit travel time, the route condition and the overall service reliability,” Contreras said.
The Rider took a VOLT on Sep 2. from parking lot E21 on the Edinburg campus to The University Recreation Center. The initial call from lot E21 was made at 3:04 p.m. The VOLT arrived at 3:08 p.m. four minutes after the call was made.
However, the trip included a stop at the Performing Arts Complex to wait for a connecting vehicle. A van then arrived at 3:20 p.m. It later stopped at another Vaquero Express location to pick up a few people and then made another stop by the Student Academic Center before finally heading to the Recreation Center arriving at 3:39 p.m.
The overall trip took about 35 minutes to complete from the initial call.
Adrian Hernandez/ THE RIDER
Contreras said the 15 minute frequency on the Edinburg campus of the VOLT is based on the distance that the route alignment has as the route may have several stops.
Monique Brecma, a biochemistry and molecular biology freshman, said that she uses the VOLT quite often because she parks near the railroad off of Schunior Street.
She said one of the longest waits she experienced for the VOLT was 15 minutes and added that she saw a VOLT pass by her as she was waiting for one before a vehicle picked her up.
“It’s just the wait that takes forever… them taking us where we need to be is quite quick,” Brecma said.
She added that long wait times sometimes make the VOLT less convenient.
“By the time I’m waiting for them to come, especially in this heat, it makes it ten times worse … I could already have gone to my car and probably gotten home,” Brecma said.
Aylen Faz, a biology freshman, said that she planned to take a VOLT if her classes were in different buildings because she heard it helps people get to their classes faster.
She said, “I wasn’t sure … how to call [the VOLT].”
Faz said that having access to times that the VOLT stops at certain circuits would help improve the overall experience of knowing when you are going to arrive at your designated stop.
Contreras said more vehicles would be made available if a particular alignment needs it.
“We monitor the traffic conditions, the ridership, the route performance closely, so that any service issue that come up can be addressed as quickly as possible for students to expect wait times to improve as the semester progresses,” she said.
Students who experience delays can call Parking and Transportation Services at 956-665-2036 for the Edinburg campus and 956-882-2036 for the Brownsville campus.
Contreras said that customer service assistants are available to receive calls and will contact a VOLT driver to help.
To keep track of a VOLTs location, students can download the TransLoc app.
For more information on VOLTs, visit the Parking and Transportation Services website.
