Georgia State students rated the Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) golf cart shuttle service above average in a random student survey on campus Monday. The students who were given the survey voiced some suggestions to keep the program a success.
The Signal conducted a random survey of 100 Georgia State students. Of the 100 students, 10 percent of the students said their experience on the CSC golf cart shuttle was “very poor,” five percent of the students said their experience was “poor,” and 22 percent of the students surveyed said their experience was “average.”
Another 38 percent of the students said their experience was “above average” and 25 percent of the students said their experience was “very good.”
Most students who rated their experience above average said the drivers were friendly, fun and talkative. The students who rated their experience below average said the drivers pass them up, were too flirtatious and unavailable when they needed rides the most.
The Panther Ambassador program places security guards at nine posts around campus including routes from the Aderhold Learning Center to the University Commons and from Petit Science Center to the Piedmont North housing complex. Nine ambassadors and one supervisor work Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. while two officers monitor the routes on the weekend according to the Georgia State website.
Jasmine Quarteman, a sophomore and managerial science major who lives on campus, said she enjoys riding the CSC shuttle whenever she has the opportunity because of the convenience it offers students who need a ride from one point to the next. She said there are times when the drivers act like they don’t want to pick them up.
“When I get the opportunity to ride it I enjoy it, but they have a tendency to pass a lot of students especially when they can stop and let people on when the light is red or there isn’t any ongoing traffic,” Quarteman said.
Quivanna Waddles, a freshman who lives on campus, said she is concerned there aren’t enough carts available to the students. She said students have no idea how to reach the CSC drivers for a ride and there are times when they can’t find the shuttles.
“I think they should have a better calling system or have more guys standing around. You have to actually find one of the guys,” Waddles said.
McKenzie Bell, a business major who lives on campus, said the shuttles service experience is good but there are times when the drivers seem to be very impatient with the students. She said there are often times when the shuttle is late picking them up.
“I feel that the drivers are not patient when it comes to waiting for every student to load the shuttle,” Bell said. “They also have long delays which cause us to miss our classes.”
According to Noel Rivera, the Panther Ambassador Manager, the CSC golf cart shuttle service is available seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. The CSC has about four carts that run every night. Each cart can accommodate up to five students at a time.
“Students can call for a ride whenever they need one,” Rivera Said. “Sometimes we are out and the S Deck is not always monitored. If we are unavailable a student should call the campus police non-emergency number, 404-213-2100, to ask for shuttle service.”
Rivera said the Panther Ambassadors assist the resident assistants with evacuating the building if there is an emergency like a fire or event where students need to move quickly for safety.
“If we are responding to an incident like that, yeah I am going straight to wherever that incident is,” Rivera said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s going to be housing so we will go there.”
Rivera said there are times when the shuttle drivers just don’t hear a student asking for a ride. They also just aren’t able to cut across traffic because they are two lanes over. He said most of the time the driver has to respond to an incident that is already in progress because they are closest to the incident. Rivera said that’s the only reason a driver would pass a student.
“If the closest incident commander is on a shuttle they are going to respond to that incident. It’s not intentional that we’re trying to leave someone behind,” Rivera said.
Rivera said the CSC shuttle service is available for students, staff, faculty and alumni and the families of students while they are visiting the campus. He said they provide students with a vehicle jump if their battery dies while on campus as well.
“We take people to the Georgia State train station, Peachtree Center train station and the Five Points train station.” Rivera said.
Rivera said students who have problems with the service or a particular shuttle driver should contact him at 404-803-3460 to report their concern.
