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Syracuse common councilors narrowly OK free shuttle for city employees

A white shuttle bus with black words saying "Valet Park of America" on its side sits in front of Upstate University Hospital at night.
Valet Park of America/Upstate University Hospital
/
Used with permission
A Valet Park of America shuttle bus sits outside the entrance of SUNY Upstate University Hospital. The 43-passenger vehicle is probably larger than what may be used for a new shuttle service for city employees, which the Syracuse Common Council approved, Oct. 24, 2022.

More than 250 Syracuse city workers will soon have access to a free shuttle service after Syracuse Common Councilorsapproved the plan on Monday. But the council's narrow 5-4 vote reflects how uncertain they are about if this is a responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

Under the agreement, the city will pay LAZ parking $100,000 to purchase a shuttle and provide a transportation service from the Washington street parking garage near West Street.

Employees have told city officials that the long walk to city hall, the public safety building, or other locations can be dangerous in the winter. But Common Councilor Jennifer Schultz questioned Chief Operating Officer Corey Driscoll Dunham about determining the need for a shuttle on what was a small survey sample.

"We're basing this whole purchase and proposal on 54 employees taking the shuttle?" Schultz asked during the Monday meeting.

Dunham said the need for the shuttle service also included other city employees, but the survey only included answers from employees at City Hall and City Hall Commons, located around the corner from the main municipal building.

"There might also be people who didn't respond, people who pay to park right now that would utilize this service and save themselves some money," Dunham said.

During the meeting, Councilor Chol Majok questioned why the city didn’t consider a shorter pilot program with another transportation firm.

"Rather than making this investment into a van, we've been looking at a community organization to do it for three months to see where it goes," Majok said. "Because I know organizations in our community that do transportation for business. I am saying this, by the end of four months, we realize this is something we don't need, and then we have just bought a van we could use but we didn't really need it."

In response, Dunham told councilors that the city already has a relationship with LAZ, which runs all five of the city’s parking garages and provides a similar service to other municipalities. She added that once the agreement with LAZ expires, the city could take the title to the shuttle bus and find other uses for it. In the end, Councilors Pat Hogan and Michael Greene joined Majok and Schultz in voting no.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.