BATON ROUGE — The LSU Athletic Department has been notified by the Capital Area Transit System that the Tiger Transit service, a bus system to transport fans to LSU football games from outlying areas, will not be operational for the 2006 football season.
CATS informed LSU on Wednesday that it did not have sufficient funding to continue to operate the service. The Athletic Department, which has invested over $200,000 in the service over the last four years, notified CATS in early July that it could not continue to help subsidize the service.
“We are certainly disappointed that CATS will not provide this service this season, but it was a business decision on their part, and I understand that,” said LSU athletic director Skip Bertman. “This was a wonderful service for LSU fans, but ultimately it did not become self-sufficient as we had all hoped.”
CATS informed LSU it will continue to offer its traditional bus service from the Westmoreland Shopping Center, but all other Tiger Transit buses will be discontinued. LSU will continue to fund the CATS buses that transport disabled patrons from handicap parking lots on the LSU campus to Tiger Stadium, and motor home parkers from Touchdown Village to the stadium.
Bertman cited escalating game day costs as a primary factor for the elimination of LSU’s participation in the Tiger Transit service. The projected cost of operating LSU football games will increase by more than $700,000 over last season, primarily due to a 54 percent increase in costs related to police, security and parking services and waste removal associated with the games and tailgating activities.