BYU-I students advocate for bus transportation system

Courtesy Rexburg Standard Journal

REXBURG — Shouts of “What are we waiting for? We’re waiting for the bus!” rang out from the corner of Viking Drive and 1st West as BYU-Idaho students poured out of the BYU-Idaho center after the college’s weekly devotional last Tuesday.

These chanting students were members of the student interest group, Students for Students Rexburg, and braved a windy Rexburg day to gather support for a public bus system in Rexburg.

Kyle Wagner, a founding member, told the Standard Journal that Students for Students Rexburg is an attempt to give the student population in Rexburg a voice.

“Students for Students is a pro-student interest group that me and Audra [Schwartz] began at the beginning of the semester. Really our major goal is give students a better voice, or to represent the student voice in Rexburg,” Wagner said.

In addition to chanting, other members of the group participating in the rally stopped people on the street, encouraging them to sign a petition expressing their support for a bus system.

One BYU-I student who signed the petition, Rose Kiernan, said she felt it would be a huge benefit for her and other students to have a bus system.

“I feel like a lot of students would really benefit from having a transportation system. It would make them more self-reliant, and it would be less expensive,” Kiernan said.

Macer Fredrickson, another BYU-Idaho student who signed the petition, said that although he didn’t really need a bus himself, he felt it was a good idea for those students without cars.

“I just think it’s a great idea,” Fredrickson said.

Schwartz, another one of the founders of Students for Students Rexburg, said the reason they were out protesting is because the group felt a bus system could provide a lot of benefits, especially for those students living in Rexburg without vehicles.

“For students, I know at least four of the people in our group don’t actually have cars, and [Wagner] actually walks to Wal-Mart when he needs to go most of the time. Especially in the winter where it gets dark at 4:30 p.m. and you need to get something or go somewhere — so someone needs a job at Wal-Mart, they don’t have a car, they need to be able to travel there safely, especially in the snow and bad conditions,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz said a bus system is not only convenient for the students, but could benefit the City of Rexburg as a whole.

“But also we think it would benefit Rexburg because I know the citizens of Rexburg complain about students bringing too much traffic.

“A bus system would help alleviate traffic, encourage the students to not bring cars to school, which would decrease the need for building more parking structures. I don’t really see why it’s not being pushed forward more by the City of Rexburg,” said Schwartz.

In response to the question of what roadblocks might be in the way of a bus system, Schwartz said she wasn’t sure and one of the group’s goals was to figure that out.

“I’m not sure about the roadblocks and that’s what we’re trying to figure out — what the hesitation is. The only hesitation I kind of come across is who should fund it, whether it should be private or should be public,” Wagner said.

Donna Benfield, president of the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Rexburg City Council, also made an appearance to see how many students supported the effort and to ask questions of the group’s leaders.

“I was very interested in the size of the group that they would have, how many they would have feeling like they would need a bus in Rexburg,” Benfield said.

She also she said felt the idea of a bus system could benefit the entire community.

“I think it would be a real good addition to the community. I think it would be a boon to the local merchants. I think it would help transport the students,” Benfield said.

Benfield said the biggest hurdle to bringing a bus system to Rexburg is funding.

“The biggest hurdle is financing. Who’s going to finance it?” Benfield said.

Benfield said the city is currently engaged in a federally funded feasibility study examining the possibility of public transportation in the city.

“We have won a grant to do a feasibility study, and we’re in the process of doing that. The answers should be out by September,” Benfield said.

Benfield said she thought the student rally was a good thing.

“I think it’s a great idea. They need to be able to express needs that they think we have in this community,” she said.

Kyle Wagner, another founder of Students for Students Rexburg, said another focus for the rally was to gain more student support.

“That’s why we’re having a rally outside of the I-Center on the last [devotional] of the semester: so that we can get the maximum amount of exposure. And even if people just hear us and see us, that puts in their minds that there are students that are politically involved, and those that also want to be politically involved will have a means to do so,” Wagner said.

Rudolfe Funes said another main goal of Students for Students Rexburg was to bridge the gap between the citizens of Rexburg and the student population.

In addition to encouraging the creation of a public bus system, the group has their sights set on improving traffic lighting in the city and lobbying for better snow removal.

Wagner said he feels their goals are not just student-oriented, but promoting anything to benefit students will benefit the entire community of Rexburg as well.

“We really think that any policy that’s pro-student is pro-Rexburg,” Wagner said.

Wagner said the group is already considering future events after the rally, including an event to encourage students to vote in the upcoming city elections.

To stay updated on the progress of the Students for Students Rexburg organization, visit the Students for Students Rexburg Facebook page or e-mail rex.students4students@gmail.com.

This article was written by Rexburg Standard Journal Reporter Caleb Despain. It is used here with permission. The original article was published here.