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A recent survey regarding the ����ԭ��-Berkeley shuttle’s afternoon schedule received almost 1,000 responses, the majority of which indicated that people favored a later departure time from ����ԭ��.

As a result, a is under way “to further identify the optimal” departure time,” said Richard E. Battersby, director of UC ����ԭ�� Fleet Services, which runs the .

Under the existing schedule, the afternoon shuttle departs ����ԭ�� at 2:15. The follow-up survey asks people to pick a new departure time from among the following: 3:30, 4, 4:30, 5 or 5:30 p.m.

The ����ԭ��-Berkeley shuttle makes two runs daily, in the morning and afternoon, Monday through Friday, carrying about 15,000 riders a year, as well as intercampus mail. Only ����ԭ�� and Berkeley faculty, staff and students are allowed to ride; the fare is $9.75 per one-way trip.

The bus also hauls materials to and from UC’s Northern Regional Library Facility in Richmond — going there every morning and afternoon. This is not a simple detour off Interstate 80 on the way to or from Berkeley; instead, the bus first drops off its passengers in Berkeley, then makes a side trip out to Richmond and back to Berkeley, to pick up passengers for the return trip to ����ԭ��.

Starting in 2011, Battersby said, Fleet Services will eliminate the afternoon side trip to Richmond. This is a cost-saving measure, he said, worth an estimated $20,000 in operating expenses.

In making this change, Battersby said, Fleet Services also decided to take the opportunity to see if there might be a more popular afternoon departure time from ����ԭ��. This is what prompted the first survey — in which 62 percent of the respondents said they favored a 4 p.m. departure from ����ԭ��.

Other results showed the following percentages for four other departure times:

• 3:30 p.m. — 10.6 percent
• 3 p.m. — 12.6 percent
• 2:30 p.m. — 5.6 percent
• 2 p.m. — 9.2 percent

In each scenario, the bus would operate on a two-hour schedule; i.e., the departure time from Berkeley would be two hours after the bus left ����ԭ��.

“Once we saw the responses, we decided to see if we could zero in on the preferred departure time, in a range from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.,” Battersby said. “We are aiming to serve as many people as we can, and hopefully pick up some new riders.”

He said the follow-up survey will be open until Dec. 8.

Fleet Services is not making any changes to the morning schedule. The morning bus leaves ����ԭ�� at 7:30, arrives in Berkeley at about 9, makes the side trip to Richmond and back, then starts back to ����ԭ�� at 11:30 a.m., arriving at approximately 1 p.m.

Reservations are required. , including the complete schedule.