Dorm Residents Protest Bus Cancelation

The Office of Residential Life (ResLife) had announced in an email on October 31 that the dorms bus service will no longer be provided on weekdays due to low demand.

It added that transportation will only be offered to residents during weekends and official holidays, since the regular university bus service does not run during these periods.

The email stated that only two percent of the tenants use the bus, which accounts for only 2.75 percent of the expenses incurred, making it cost inefficient.

Dorm residents, however, say the ResLife’s survey was carried out under conditions that would invariably skew the results.

During an emergency meeting last Sunday, dorm residents decided to carry out their own survey of 120 tenants.

There are currently 450 students residing in the dorms.

“They’re basing their statistics on [October only], which included the Eid vacation and two weeks of exams, so the statistics are not reliable and do not reflect the actual demand,” said dorm resident Engy Abdel Moneim, a Business Administration senior.

However, Yasser Allam, the ResLife finance coordinator, said that they only based their statistics on October because that is when their system of operations changed.

“The dorms bus service was available for free since the beginning of the semester until October 8 when the new payment system [began],” Allam said.

“That’s why we based our statistics on October, to get the actual use of the new paid system.”

Farah El Sebakhi, an undeclared sophomore, said that residents should not even be paying for a service as basic as transportation.

“We pay a lot of money and barely get [anything]. It isn’t our responsibility that there aren’t a lot of people using [the buses] and it is a crucial service. We should neither pay for it nor have it canceled because they don’t have enough money,” Sebakhi added.

Residents say that ResLife cannot accurately determine the number of students using the buses because not all dorm tenants purchase tickets.

They say that the new monthly subscription and daily-use ticket system are inefficient and cannot accurately gauge how often the dorm residents use the weekday buses, thus rendering them incapable of providing the service accordingly.

Political Science senior Yasmin Hashim told the Caravan that people living in the dorms need the buses because they are safer, more convenient and cheaper than other means of transportation.

“We pay more than EGP 17,000 to get such services, then they cut it off, and this is totally unfair,” she added.

Some students also find it troubling that ResLife chooses to make important decisions in the middle of the semester, leaving residents unprepared for such accommodations.

“[Reslife] could’ve told us earlier before the semester began so that we could’ve registered for Zamalek residence,” said Lamia Bakry, a business administration junior.

Tenants added that even if there is low demand, it is not an excuse to cancel the entire service during the weekdays.

“[ResLife] used to have other options like a small bus or a vehicle instead of canceling the whole trip,” said Osamah Shoabi, an undeclared sophomore.

Allam added that ResLife has in fact provided safe alternatives to the residents during weekdays.

“There was an email sent to the residents that provides a link to the carpooling service online. This service was available for faculty only but now it’s available for everyone,” he said.

ResLife said it would meet dorm tenants throughout the week 9 to discuss the two surveys and find a solution.