The Disability Courtesy Shuttle aids students with temporary and permanent disabilities in getting across campus. Plans for another shuttle to the University Center for the Arts are in the works.

Joe Tiner is the assistant director for access and accommodations within the Colorado State University Student Disability Center.

“Our office does the part of the process where we verify that students have either a permanent or temporary disability that affects their mobility and refer them to parking and transportation services to use the shuttle program,” Tiner said.

Tiner said the program caters to students with a variety of different needs: those who use a wheelchair due to mobility restrictions, students who have broken one of their legs and just need the service until they recover or those with more chronic health conditions like a limited lung capacity, which makes walking long distances difficult.

The shuttle runs from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and picks up students at certain locations on campus, such as designated parking lots, dorms and campus buildings that are not near the Transfort Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant routes. The shuttle does not operate during academic breaks but does run during the summer semester.

An app is currently being developed to streamline the process of scheduling rides.

To access the shuttle’s services, students first must meet with the Student Disability Center about their disability and accessibility needs. Then, after the Student Disability Center collects documentation of the student’s disability, they send approval to Parking and Transportation Services. The student can then schedule pick up times and locations with Parking and Transportation Services.

Outside of the shuttle, the Student Disability Center also works with students to find other means to get them where they need to go, including the Around the Horn bus or Transfort’s Dial-A-Ride Paratransit service.

There is also another shuttle in development that will transport students farther out to the University Center for the Arts. This shuttle would work similarly to the current one, but each trip would need to start or end at the University Center for the Arts.

“From the initial surveys that we put out, this program is really desperately needed, and likely, we’ll get a lot of ridership.” –Braxton Dietz, ASCSU vice president

Because of the train that runs between the main campus and the University Center for the Arts, a shuttle van is needed to cross the track.

“If a bus has to cross the railroad track, it will not be on schedule, and the Around the Horn bus runs every 10 minutes,” said Aaron Fodge, director of active transportation at CSU parking and transportation services. “There’s the potential that we get out two to three busses waiting to cross the tracks, and then we’ve got some pretty unhappy customers who are counting on that route to get them to their destination.”

The shuttle is first come, first served, and Fodge said it has already started to reach capacity as those with permanent disabilities schedule their rides at the start of the semester. This may leave students who suddenly become either temporary or permanently disabled in the middle of the semester unable to access the shuttle services.

Associated Students of CSU Vice President Braxton Dietz said more funding would be needed for the program to expand.

“As far as expanding the program, that really won’t happen until a year or two — maybe five — down the road, once we see how much ridership this gets,” Dietz said. “From the initial surveys that we put out, this program is really desperately needed, and likely, we’ll get a lot of ridership.”

Currently, the program funding has been allocated from many different organizations on campus, including student fees and the Student Disability Center.

“I know the city of Fort Collins is watching this closely, too, because we’re all wanting to see how on-demand microtransit is going to operate in Fort Collins,” Fodge said.

Microtransit is known as a flexible, on-demand transit that utilizes smaller vehicles than a bus, such as a car or shuttle van.

Reach Bear Atwood at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.