Tag Archives: you said

You said, This Happened: Improvements to U1 & U2 Bus Service

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In response to passenger feedback, the following improvements are being introduced to the university bus service from this week:

The U1 Service will run an enhanced term-time service with additional bus services from both campuses.

From the Lansdowne Campus:

  • 8.47am (departing Cranborne House not Dorchester House)
  • 9.43am (departing Dorchester House)
  • 10.43am (departing Dorchester House)

From Talbot Campus:

  • 9.25am (departing Fern Barrow)
  • 10.25am (departing Fern Barrow)

The U2 Service will also operate an enhanced level of service from 3.40pm to 7pm, where the frequency of service will increase to every 30 minutes.

Reece Pope, SUBU’s VP Welfare Officer, said: “The changes made to the bus service is a perfect example of how the voice of students are listened to and acted on here at BU. The University and Morebus have been very happy to listen to your feedback so feel free to contact me if you have any further suggestions on how to improve this service.”

Updated online timetables for the enhanced U1 and U2 services are available here and you can also check timetables and live bus information in our iBU mobile app.

You Said, This Happened: the myBU app goes live today

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myBU-appMany students have told us that a myBU app would be helpful, and we know that lots of you access myBU via a mobile device.

From today, in addition to using myBU online, you’ll be able to view your myBU unit information, announcements and communities on your mobile device using the Blackboard Mobile Learn app. This will make it easier for you to access study materials, including:

  • Unit information
  • Blogs
  • Discussion forums
  • Journals
  • Tests.

You’ll also be able to view assessment marks/grades and receive notifications when new announcements and resources are added to a unit or communities such as the Careers & Employability Service, Academic Skills and Languages@BU.

You can still use iBU to access reading lists, library resources, and check PC availability, and we’ve added a tab that will link you through from iBU to the new myBU app, so it’ll be easy to switch from one to the other.

Download the Blackboard Mobile Learn app now from your app store or via the myBU tab in iBU. When you install the app you will need to select BU from a drop down list of institutions. Then simply login with your usual BU username and password.

Blackboard Mobile Learn is available on IoS, Android and Blackberry devices. Other users can continue to access myBU online.

If you experience any issues downloading or using the myBU app, please contact the IT Service desk, or read this useful ‘help information’.

You Said, This Happened: Improved IT Services website

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Over the past year students from the Media School have been working with BU’s IT Services to create a new website, making information easier to access and navigate.

The IT Services team reviewed student feedback that had been shared at Student Experience Forums, by SUBU Student Reps and via enquiries to the IT Service Desk in the last academic year.

Keys areas for improvement included providing up-to-date information, the ability to view the site on mobile devices as well as making it easier to contact IT Services and receive updates.

Much of that feedback has informed the information and structure for a new website as well as the design and layout. Phil Downes, Web Development Manager at BU, told us:

“We wanted to update our online support so that students can find information easily, quickly, and wherever or whenever they need it.”

It’s now possible for students to sign up for alerts about any outages or planned maintenance, as well as view a ‘live service status’ to monitor major online services (e.g. myBU, timetables) and know if any are experiencing issues.

“We’ve made it easier to find out about the products we offer, access advice for the different types of issues students may experience and log an IT job and track its progress,” Phil continued.

“We also saw this as a great opportunity to have students involved in, not just the user research, but also the website creation. A number of students from The Media School were given the requirements and brand guidelines and were tasked with creating the design. IT Services worked with the students to refine the design and build the new site. User testing was carried out by both staff and students to make sure it was easy to use and navigate.”

Phil added “This joint approach has helped us make sure the site meets students’ needs as well as giving the students experience or working to brand guidelines and as part of a development team.”

Check out the website, and bookmark it!

We encourage all students to share their feedback – one way to do this is through SUBU’s Ideas Forum.

You Said, This Happened: More resources, more desks, more PC’s, more flexible renewals and reservations.

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Throughout 2013-4, Library and Learning Support have been listening to student feedback from SUBU’s Student Opinion Survey and The National Student Survey.

The Library staff have acted on that feedback and made a number of changes which will benefit all BU students.

Neil Ford, Academic Liaison Development Manager in the BU Library team, explains:

“We wanted to understand what the students’ main priorities were for improvements. We reviewed all of the student comments relating to the library from Student Opinion Surveys and National Student Surveys.

“As a result we made some changes which we hope will have a significant impact for all students using the library services”.You-said-Library

We encourage all students to share their feedback – one way to do this is through SUBU’s Ideas Forum.

 

You Said, We Did: More buses!

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The start of term saw big queues and longer waiting times on some of BU’s bus routes. Students shared their frustration with the Students’ Union and BU’s travel planners had a more efficient service running in less than a week.

Reece Pope, VP Welfare at SUBU

“At SUBU we encourage students to send their comments on any issues relating to life at BU. Several students contacted me about the sheer number of people using the buses and how this was increasing journey times and sometimes making them late for lectures.

“Specifically they said the U1 bus was arriving later than advertised and buses were so full that students couldn’t get on further down the route.

“One student told me they arrived at Cemetery Junction for the 09:30 bus, which unfortunately drove past. The student eventually got on another bus but arrived at Talbot Campus half an hour late and felt too embarrassed to walk into the lecture theatre. The student was especially frustrated as they had paid for a yearly bus pass.

“I met with BU’s Travel Plan Coordinator Richard Wintrip and shared this feedback.”

Richard Wintrip, BU’s Travel Plan Co-ordinator

“If people have bought an annual pass they would expect to be able to use the bus service, so it was really important for us to act on this feedback quickly. In this case we were able to act immediately and worked with BU’s contracted bus company to have a solution in place in under a week.

“After speaking to Reece on Tuesday last week, I asked the bus company out to monitor how many people were getting on the buses at different points along the route and how long people were waiting. Much of the congestion was happening at Cranbourne House near the Lansdowne.

“On Thursday we arranged with the bus company to put on an extra bus on the U1 route and upgrade the U4 bus to a double decker to carry more passengers. We put this in place from Monday – less than a week from when we first spoke to SUBU about it.”

A more efficient service

When BU’s contracted bus company monitored the situation at 8:30 on Wednesday last week, there were 40 people waiting at the Cranbourne House bus stop and they had a seven minute wait for the next one. A week on and things look very different.

Richard said: “Today, there no one was left waiting at 08:30 and the buses were leaving on time with some spare capacity available.”

Reece said: “The reply from Richard was so positive and he definitely has the interest of students at the top of his agenda. I feel confident that any issues brought to my attention in relation to buses will be dealt with quickly and efficiently. The students seem happy with the results, if their Facebook response is anything to go by.

We encourage students to share their feedback through SUBU’s Ideas Forum.