With the help of the Associated Students of Colorado State University, the Student Disability Center and Parking & Transportation Services, Colorado State University is working to help students with disabilities get around campus with an updated shuttle service: the Disability Courtesy Shuttle.

The concept of having shuttles to assist students with permanent and temporary physical disabilities isn’t new, but the program has been improved. A shuttle to the University Center for the Arts is a recent addition.

“The initial program that started 15 or so years ago came from student advocacy and was primarily supported by student fees,” said Joe Tiner, the assistant director for access and accommodations within the CSU Student Disability Center. The transportation vehicle was originally a van, but that got shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current shuttle program was born during fall 2022 when Braxton Dietz, ASCSU’s vice president, was serving in the senate.

“I was watching (my friends) crutch from their dorms in Corbett all the way to Clark,” Dietz said. “At this point I was in the senate, and so I said, ‘Well, you know, this is ridiculous.’”

Other similarly sized universities had shuttles to help students with physical disabilities get around campus.

The UCA shuttle is new, and it’s not just for students with disabilities. Many students can benefit from not having to walk or bike what can sometimes be more than a mile, depending on what part of campus they are coming from.

“You think about the amount of time that it takes to lug a tuba from the UCA — that’s like 30 minutes,” Dietz said. “That’s 30 minutes that folks could be spending engaging in extracurricular activities, finding new friends and communities on campus (and) engaging in new hobbies,” Dietz said.

The original program was operated by Off-Campus Life, similar to RamRide. Because the shuttles were not actually taking students off campus, it became a collaboration between the SDC and Parking and Transportation Services instead.

Student fees cover the cost of the program; each student pays $3.25 a year to fund the shuttles, Dietz said.

Another big update the shuttles have seen is the creation of an app that helps students access both kinds of shuttles. Students can now download the CSU Courtesy Shuttle app to request a ride from either the disability shuttle or the UCA shuttle.

“It works pretty similar to Uber,” Dietz said about the app. Students pick the locations they would like to be picked up and dropped off at and can indicate any accommodations they need when booking.

Prior to the updates, accessing the shuttles required contacting the SDC and emailing coordinators. The app has streamlined the process. So now, in order to access the disability shuttles, a student must fill out an application with the SDC, but the app can then be used to book rides. The UCA shuttle does not require an application.

“CSU has a commitment to serving all types of students and meeting them in whatever need that they have, and this shuttle mirrors that need and furthers that need on CSU’s campus.” -Braxton Dietz, ASCSU vice president

“(We are) encouraging students to know that these are resources,” Tiner said of the SDC’s role in the program.

“If a student is actively accessing the resources, then they know it’s there,” said Sandy Venturato, who works in Fleet Services with CSU’s Parking and Transportation Services.

Venturato said most students who use the disability shuttles have temporary disabilities, such as broken legs.

She also reminded students to be mindful of the disability shuttles when walking on campus, as they often go where other vehicles don’t. Also, she would like students to be courteous to drivers, as they are there for a reason.

“Keep an eye out for a van when you don’t expect it,” Venturato said.

“Parking oversees the operations, … and the Student Disability Center works to verify that students who have a physical disability are able to access the shuttle,” Tiner said.

Dietz stressed that the shuttle service should be easy to use, no matter why a student needs access to it.

“CSU has a commitment to serving all types of students and meeting them in whatever need that they have, and this shuttle mirrors that need and furthers that need on CSU’s campus.”

Reach Angelina Hamlin at news@collegian.com or on social media @CSUCollegian.