The Department of Parking and Transportation at Georgia Southern University is currently making plans to improve the transit on campus.

These plans include purchasing new buses and adding a new kiosk to one of campus' busiest bus stops, Kristi Bryant, director of parking and transportation, said.

“Our current fleet of buses are just worn out. We're experiencing numerous mechanical issues that are causing us to lose some service, meaning we're not running the amount of routes we need to be running and providing the amount of service we need to be providing,” Bryant said. “The current fleet has well outlived its life. They usually last around three to four years, and we're on our sixth year using them.”

Student transit fees pay for the buses as well as other transit projects. First the transit fee covers the new buses and anything left over goes to other projects involving transit, such as fixing roads or building new kiosks, Bryant said.

The new buses will be more durable and user-friendly, while still maintaining GSU’s vision of a green university, Bryant said.

The new buses will still burn clean alternative fuel, but instead of the clean burning natural gas being used now, they will use biodiesel. Biodiesel can be produced from a variety of renewable sources, including soybean oil and animal fats, Bryant said.

“The biodiesel will be burning as clean, if not more clean, as the natural gas,” Bryant said.

The new buses will also need to be very durable. GSU’s blue and gold route together average over 2 million riders a year, not including summer, Bryant said.

“The new buses will be low floor buses. These you make one step onto the bus and it's flat.” Bryant said. “(It will be) much easier for our mobility impaired students in wheelchairs or on crutches. A ramp would just fold straight out the door, allowing them to roll straight on the bus and not use the lifts on the back of the bus that we currently use.”

Some Georgia Southern students think the new lower bus model is a great idea.

“I think this will be more helpful, because select few buses are like that, and I feel bad when I see people in wheelchairs and crutches getting on the bus. And, having amenities like that would really be helpful.” Brandy Collins, a junior general studies major, said.

GSU is also in the process of adding a new kiosk to the Forest Drive Building bus stop to shield students from Georgia's infamous weather — whether it is 100 degrees or 30 degrees and raining, Bryant said.

“It will be nice on rainy days for students to have something to gather under, or those hot summer days to have a little bit of shade; benches so you can sit while you wait on the bus,” Bryant said.

“(The kiosk) sounds like a good idea, especially so people don't have to wait on the bus in the rain,” Mariann Torrence, sophomore sociology major, said.

There hasn't been a deal finalized on the new buses yet, but as soon as a contract is signed it will take about 12 months for the buses to be built and delivered, Bryant said.

“Buying a new bus is not like going down to a new car lot, you can't just go and buy a new bus,” Bryant said.

The new buses should be ready to roll out by Fall 2013, and construction on the new kiosks should be completed sometime in April, Bryant said.