Aggie Shuttle color, route changes cause confusion

Students returning to Utah State University this fall found a familiar system with a new look, as Aggie Shuttle swapped the colors on several of its bus routes and rerouted one line to reach the university’s new Veterinary Medicine Building.

Tracy Hulse, director of parking and transportation, said the color changes were meant to eliminate overlap with Cache Valley Transit District’s Connect Public Transit buses, which run alongside Aggie Shuttle through 700 North, also known as Aggie Boulevard. 

Connect changed its own route colors five years ago, according to Hulse, landing on blue and green for buses that travel the same stretch of road as Aggie Shuttle’s blue and green routes.

“It’s always been just a little confusing because that was our blue and green route as well,” Hulse said.

Hulse said the university considered making the switch when Connect first changed colors but held off because the overlap wasn’t causing major problems. With other changes already planned for this year, he said, it made sense to update the colors at the same time.

The most visible of the other changes affect the route known as the North Core Express, which is now gray after previously being blue. The route was rerouted to serve the new Veterinary Medicine Building at 1400 North and 1200 East, sending buses up 14th North instead of 10th North before continuing on. 

Hulse said the detour adds enough distance that riders could wait two to three minutes longer than before.

He said the university may make further adjustments to that route because students who park in the Stan Laub Indoor Training Center area have been crossing 14th North without a crosswalk. Options under discussion include a temporary route change or asking Logan City to add a crosswalk similar to one near the Motorpool farther west.

Hulse said he hasn’t received complaints about the changes, aside from the usual confusion that often comes during the first weeks of a semester.

Not every rider agrees the changes have gone smoothly. Adam Fulks, a junior studying mechanical engineering, said the new colors have made it harder, rather than easier, to navigate the system.

“It’s been confusing because the bus stop signs still have the old colors,” Fulks said. “Even when you log on to the Passio GO! app, the colors of the buses are wrong.”

Fulks said he doesn’t personally ride Connect buses and wasn’t aware the color overlap was considered a problem worth fixing.

“I think it would be an easier solution to not use colors at all,” Fulks said. “Use something else to distinguish the routes.”

Fulks, who has ridden the North Core route in the past, said he doesn’t object to extending it to reach the veterinary building, but he questioned why the university hasn’t added smaller shuttles to cover routes that are approaching capacity.

He said he was recently passed by a full 800 East bus while waiting at a stop near the end of its route.

“I’m surprised they don’t have one of those running smaller routes where you’re only grabbing a couple of people,” Fulks said, comparing the idea to the small shuttle that already serves the university’s water lab.

That water lab shuttle is set for its own change. Hulse said the university used sustainability council funding to purchase a nine-passenger electric transit van that will eventually replace the minibus currently looping continuously between the TSC and the water lab.  

Once the Passio GO! app is updated to support it, riders will be able to scan QR codes at designated stops to request a ride on demand rather than wait for the van to complete its loop. 

Hulse said the update was originally expected to launch before the semester began but has been delayed roughly a month by unspecified setbacks. The van will carry Aggie Shuttle branding along with markings noting it runs on electricity. 

The Aggie Shuttle moves many people, students and visitors alike every year.  

“The Aggie Shuttle transports about 1 million riders per year,” Hulse said.