A new afternoon schedule for the Davis-Berkeley shuttle will begin Jan. 3, Fleet Services announced. Also, the Davis campus's goClub is advertising for new riders for the Solano One to Davis vanpool.

Davis-Berkeley shuttle

The bus will leave Davis more than two hours later each afternoon (4:30 p.m.), while still arriving back at the same time (8 p.m.).

Under the existing schedule, the afternoon shuttle departs Davis at 2:15, arrives on the Berkeley campus at 3:45 and starts back for Davis at 6:30, arriving at 8.

After dropping off passengers in Berkeley, the bus makes a side trip to UC’s Northern Regional Library Facility in Richmond, to drop off and pick up library materials. Then the bus goes back to Berkeley, picks up passenger and heads for Davis.

In the new year, Fleet Services will eliminate the afternoon side trip to Richmond — instead making only one side trip to the library facility each day, in the morning.

In eliminating the afternoon side trip, Fleet Services saw an opportunity to adjust its departure time from Davis — and ran two online surveys to choose the new departure time.

In the first survey, a majority of the nearly 1,000 respondents said they favored a later departure time. The second survey attempted to zero in on the best time.

“We didn’t see overwhelming support for one particular time,” said Richard E. Battersby, director of Fleet Services.

“Therefore, we have selected an evening schedule that maintains the current return time of 6:30 p.m. from UC Berkeley in order to minimize the impact to existing Berkeley bus customers,” he said.

Still, without having to make the side trip to Richmond each afternoon, the bus can begin its Berkeley run later in the day — and that new time is 4:30 p.m. The new schedule shows the shuttle arriving in Berkeley at 6, then departing for Davis at 6:30 and arriving at 8.

The second survey garnered 559 responses, and the results showed the following support for five Davis departure times: 3:30 p.m., 17.4 percent; 4 p.m., 19.3 percent; 4:30 p.m., 19.3 percent; 5 p.m., 16.9 percent; and 5:30 p.m., 27.2 percent.

“We are committed to conducting further ridership surveys in the future to ensure that the campus services we provide remain best aligned with the needs of our customers,” Battersby said.

The shuttle’s morning schedule stays the same in 2011: depart Davis 7:30 a.m., arrive Berkeley 9 a.m.; depart Berkeley 11:30 a.m., arrive Davis 1 p.m.

The shuttle runs Monday through Friday, except university holidays. (In other words, during the 2010-11 winter break, the shuttle is idle from Friday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 2.)

The shuttle carries about 15,000 riders a year, as well as intercampus mail. Only Davis and Berkeley faculty, staff and students — who are presently employed or enrolled — are allowed to ride; the fare is $9.75 per one-way trip.

Reservations are required and can be arranged online.

More information.

Solano One to Davis vanpool

The Solano One to Davis vanpool has some seats to fill, according to an announcement from the goClub, which promotes the use of alternative transportation to and from the Davis campus.

“Switching from driving alone to taking the van, carpooling or taking the bus can save you up to $2,500 a year on a full-time commute from Fairfield,” said Mary Maffly, transportation demand and marketing coordinator for Transportation and Parking Services, which runs the goClub.

She said the Solano One to Davis vanpool is for people who work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They ride in a 12-passenger luxury van, and the cost is $115 to $125 per month — including the van lease and gas. The lease prise includes insurance and van maintenance.

Other UC Davis vanpools originate in El Cerrito and Placer County.

If you are interested in making your own carpool or vanpool arrangements, check out zimride.com/ucdavis.

Or, for other options, check out the goClub website. It includes a “Commute Calculator,” which can tell you how much you can save by using alternative transportation.

Questions? Send an e-mail to goclub@ucdavis.edu.