The fleet, or part of it, has come in. The first three
of a new fleet of 10 sleek and passenger-friendly
Homewood-JHMI shuttles have arrived and will go into
service in the coming weeks. The others are expected to be
in operation by late November.
The new shuttles, operated by the Yellow Bus Company,
feature air conditioning, comfortable seating and 47-seat
capacity, with room for an additional 11 standees. Four are
equipped with lifts for wheelchair riders, which reduces
capacity for these buses to 37 seated passengers plus
standees.
The new buses offer increased capacity and comfort
over the existing fleet of vehicles, which have been in
operation since 1998. Also, the new shuttles are expected
to be less maintenance-dependent than their predecessors,
according to Lt. George Kibler,
Homewood Security's transportation coordinator. All the
new shuttles feature emission gas reduction, which burns
fuel cleaner internally, allowing fewer pollutants to be
released into the atmosphere.
And they'll be easy to spot: They're white with dark
blue and gold trim and feature prominent Johns Hopkins
signage on the sides.
The Yellow Bus Company currently has 10 Homewood-JHMI
shuttles that transport passengers to and from the
Homewood, JHMI and Peabody campuses. Johns Hopkins has
three other contracted shuttle services routes: Eastern to
Homewood and Homewood to the Stieff Silver Building, which
contains School of Engineering labs and offices, also
operated by the Yellow Bus Company; and one route, Eastern
to the JHMI campus, operated by Broadway Services.
The Johns Hopkins shuttle program began in the mid
1970s and in recent years has been experiencing gradual
growth annually. Today, the shuttle system carries
approximately 14,000 passengers weekly. Shuttle use is
free, provided that passengers show university or Johns
Hopkins Hospital identification.
In addition to the new fleet, planning continues for
the eventual shift of Homewood's shuttle transportation hub
from Shriver Hall to the corner of 33rd and St. Paul
streets, when Charles Commons, the JHU-owned mixed-use
complex, is completed two years from now. The new hub,
Kibler said, will enhance accessibility for the riders,
most of whom reside in the nearby communities.
The service, he said, offers an essential link from
the Homewood campus and nearby communities to East
Baltimore and Mount Vernon.
"The JHMI shuttles provide service for thousands of
weekly riders," he said. "They offer Hopkins affiliates a
cost-free and convenient alternative to the limited and
expensive parking options available in the Mount Vernon and
East Baltimore areas."
The cost of the Homewood-JHMI shuttle system is shared
between the university's Baltimore-based academic divisions
and the hospital.
For more information on the Homewood-JHMI shuttle
system, including schedules and stops, go to
www.jhu.edu/~security/JHMISched.htm.
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