<p>Airport Shuttle Weather Update<br>
The National Weather Service is predicting a slight chance of winter precipitation beginning Sunday night into Monday morning for the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham area. The University of Alabamas Transportation office will monitor road conditions Monday morning. Should road conditions prohibit safe travel for the buses to and from Birmingham, the shuttle will be delayed. Shuttles will be dispatched as soon as road conditions permit. </p>
<p>Please refer to the Housing and Residential Communities website for updates regarding the shuttle and weather conditions starting Monday morning at [Student</a> Affairs | Housing & Residential Communities](<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu%5DStudent”>http://housing.ua.edu)</p>
<p>If your flight is delayed due to inclement weather, please email Julie Elmore at <a href=“mailto:jelmore@sa.ua.edu”>jelmore@sa.ua.edu</a> We would be glad to change your shuttle reservation to another date/time if one is available on the day you are arriving. </p>
<p>Reservations for the Monday, January 6th 7pm and 11pm shuttles will remain open until 11am on Monday, January 6th.</p>
<p>I am not sure if I should book the UA shuttle or a private service for D on Monday. Her flight comes in to BHM at 6:30. If it is delayed just a little I don’t want her to have to wait until 11 pm for the next UA shuttle. Who has used the UA shuttle before? How do they handle delays? Her flight is from Baltimore so I am sure there is a chance other UA students will be on the same flight. Also, do you tip the driver for the UA shuttle? Do they drop you off at your dorm?</p>
<p>We have never tipped for the shuttle driver (never thought about it - maybe you are supposed to?). They drop off at the hub. In my son’s experience, the shuttle has never left on time. </p>
<p>Tomorrow is going to be such a crap shoot as far as travel goes, I’d be surprised if anything goes according to schedule. Just praying mine gets back safely. Mine is on the shuttle tomorrow. I thought that the safest option.</p>
<p>Linnylu~you should get an email with a number of the driver. Call them when you know your daughters estimated arrival time. Since the weather is going to be insane I would think the shuttle is going to be very flexible. We learned thanksgiving that an est. arrival time near 7pm that has any delay will have you stuck at the airport until the 11pm shuttle. We were very thankful and grateful for a CC parents child that drove her back to campus. It kept her from a midnight arrival to the dorms, I scheduled an earlier flight back to school so she can be on the 4pm shuttle this time. (Though she is not happy with having a 3 hour wait in Bham if her flight is in time).</p>
I’ve never seen anyone tip the UA shuttle drivers. I’m not sure if the contract with First Transit permits tipping and the drivers who are state employees may not legally be allowed to accept tips. Like most forms of public transportation in the US however, it’s considered proper to thank the driver when disembarking.</p>
<p>BHM is a nice place to spend a few hours if needed and the airport management is aware that UA students will be sitting around the airport for a couple hours. It’s not uncommon to see 100+ UA students sitting around baggage claim while waiting for the UA shuttle.</p>
<p>When much of the Southeast was closed to snow in January 2011, UA actually paid for some stranded students to stay at the airport Holiday Inn and picked them up at 11am the next day. Despite taking 5 flights to get to BHM, I landed roughly on time at 10:20 and was able to catch the new 11 am shuttle even though my original shuttle time was at 1 am.</p>
<p>Make sure your students have the airline’s phone number programmed into their phone and to call it should their be any weather delays. I also recommend the OnTheFly app by ITA Software (Google) to find alternate flights, noting that Southwest flights are not displayed. I once arrived in BHM 12 hours earlier than planned because the app informed me of an available connection in Salt Lake City.</p>
<p>I still need to arrange for D a ride back to campus from the airport on Monday. Her flight should arrive by 5:30pm.
If anyone is interested in sharing a ride back let me know. The private driver we used to get her to the airport charges about $150 for up to 4 passengers.</p>
<p>My S is/was delayed on the BHM flight from MDW. Per the email we all got about contacting the shuttle dispatcher, I called to let them know he would be taking the 7 pm shuttle, not the 4 pm shuttle. While the lady was really nice, she didn’t care one iota that S was late! - she didn’t want his name, his flight #, his originally scheduled shuttle time - she just said turn up at the 7 pm shuttle spot (or the 11 pm or whatever time is the next available shuttle) and just get on! She said that everyone is so far out of whack, that they aren’t keeping too fine a track of the individuals. So, good luck to everyone. UA will make sure that everyone gets safely home if they have a reservation.</p>
<p>aeromom - I had the same experience when I called. I spoke with a male who didn’t ask for my son’s info either. Just said to get on the next shuttle. Acted like it was no biggie to switch shuttles.</p>
<p>Dear Parents and Family Members,
*
UA currently plans to start classes as scheduled on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Faculty will work with students who experience travel delays because of the severe weather.*</p>
<p>The Emergency Preparedness and Response Policy Group will continue to monitor weather conditions. Employees and students are*encouraged to stay alert to changing weather conditions.</p>
<p>Please continue to monitor your email and our facebook page for more updates.*</p>
<p>Here in Tuscaloosa, boots on the ground, arrived Sunday night around 5 pm. Started cold rain as we headed to our hotel at 6 pm, so we beat the weather. Heading back home this morning. It’s cold, but clear outside. No snow or rain. Wishing everyone safe travels.</p>
<p>UA added shuttle service for Wednesday. Too bad for us, DD flight was just canceled and we couldn’t get a flight until Thursday.
If anyone else is in that same boat, email Julie: <a href=“mailto:jelmore@sa.ua.edu”>jelmore@sa.ua.edu</a> </p>
<p>I’m hoping if enough people contact her they will as a Thursday shuttle!</p>
<p>My son is also now rescheduled for Thursday also, arriving around 2:00. I will email her, this has been nuts! Just glad he is home and not stuck in an airport!</p>
<p>Long day of travel for my son today --cancelations and a 5 hour delay. Amber at Crown Limo was very helpful rescheduling transportation from airport to Tuscaloosa multiple times today. They just pulled onto campus! Shared ride was $65.</p>
<p>Aeromom, we had a different experience than you did. When I called, the dispatcher took my son’s name and information. She even held back a shuttle for my son, who ran from the plane (the same flight your son was on) and just made it as it was pulling away. </p>
<p>Hope everyone’s kids are back safely. Here’s to a successful semester.</p>