Back the BCC

With daily ridership at 1,500 rather than the estimated 2,000, the Bull City Connector still has room to improve—namely in introducing Duke students to downtown Durham. The bus service, established last year as part of a joint Duke-Durham initiative to highlight the wealth of activities available in the city, is most frequented by local residents and Duke employees. The University ought to prioritize increasing student ridership in order to justify its $375,000 contribution to the BCC last year.

Beyond the mere economic incentive to encourage students to use the BCC, the University has voiced its desire to strengthen Duke-Durham ties. Not marketing the service to its fullest capacity would constitute a symbolic severance of ties with the surrounding city.

The situation, however, is not beyond repair. There exists a significant minority of students who regularly trek into the city using their own means of transportation. Additionally, once students are made aware of what Durham has to offer, they travel in sporadic bursts to take advantage of a local show or eatery. The University simply needs to adopt creative strategies to tap into—and expand—the pool of willing students.

One such pool is the 1,700-student freshmen class that comes to Duke every Fall. During orientation week, new students are eager to partake in their designated first-year advisory counselor-led activities in Durham, which in the past have included attending a Durham Bulls baseball game and picnicking in the American Tobacco park. If these excursions were packaged with BCC transportation, new students would be made aware of the service early on and therefore subtly encouraged to take further advantage of the BCC stop on East Campus.

At the same time, it is worth noting that many West Campus residents are less willing to venture into Durham because there is no convenient means for them to do so. The nearest BCC stops to West are the stops along the Duke Medical Center and Central Campus. We commend the University for reevaluating its bus stops to include one more accessible for students on West Campus, and the University would do well to continue pursuing that goal. If a bus stop at the main traffic circle proves to be logistically unfeasible, a stop at the base of the Allen building or outside the admissions office would likely result in an increase in ridership.

Students must also be properly incentivized to travel into Durham via the BCC. The Hub, Duke’s discount ticket program, already provides subsidized student tickets and coupons to local shows and restaurants. These discounts can be further extended by offering students exclusive deals for nearby museums and sporting events contingent upon students packaged with BCC route maps. Additionally, the University should look into extending the BCC hours on nights and weekends to give students the option of spending their free time off campus.

The University is obligated to ensure that more of its students utilize the BCC service. The issue is more reflective of students’ disconnect with the city rather than unwillingness to immerse themselves—this, thankfully, is resolvable with proper marketing and more University-driven exposure.