The price of travel is an added college expense many students do not account for. But this cost can be partially alleviated for UW-Madison students with discounted Van Galder bus tickets purchased at the Memorial Union.
The tickets were previously sold in the Paul Bunyan room at the Memorial Union, but will now be sold at the Union’s box office.
The Associated Students of Madison Chair Carmen Goséy and chair of the Student Services Finance Committee, Colin Barushok, released a statement Wednesday morning calling the change a “disservice to students.”
“The limited operational hours of the box office severely restrict the accessibility of these cost saving tickets to the student community,” the statement said.
Goséy and Barushok urged the Union to relocate sales to a more accessible location as soon as possible and communicate the change to students.
However, Wisconsin Union spokesperson Shauna Breneman said the shortened box office hours were due to the winter break schedule. Once classes begin, the box office will return to full operation 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays.
Breneman said that the move was a result of “proactive feedback” the Wisconsin Union received from customers.
“The box office offers the capability to serve more customers more efficiently than previous bus ticket sales locations,” said Breneman. “We are working on communicating the expanded hours numerous ways, including on-site digital signage and through pending website updates.”
