If you’ve checked NextBus or the iShark app in hopes of finding the next time the Shark Shuttle will be stopping near you, you may have noticed that the app or website gives you an error message or tells you that the shuttle is offline on that route. Don’t fear, though, the Shark Shuttle is still running. The GPS system is just receiving a few upgrades, which means that the real-time trackers will be down until further notice.
Seth Mangasarian, the director of the physical plant at Nova Southeastern University, said that they are aware of the imposition that the loss of the real-time tracker places on many students.
“We are diligently working on this and we understand the frustration. This is a top priority for us to make sure this happens,” said Mangasarian.
The upgrades being performed on the Shark Shuttle are a result of AT&T recently shutting off their 3G system and replacing it with 5G, which caused problems for the onboard GPS systems at NSU. While it should have been a relatively smooth transition, the nationwide material shortage is causing delays.
“We are waiting on materials because of the material shortage that’s occurring. We are still waiting on them to arrive to complete the upgrades. We were totally unaware that this was going to occur,” said Mangasarian.
Rod Colas, assistant director for the physical plant at NSU, added that while the real-time trackers on the iShark app and Nextbus are down for the forseeable future, they’ve taken steps to let students know about the outage and make sure they don’t feel stranded.
“Just to be a little more proactive, we sent out communications to the students to let them know to call the shuttle office if they wanted the real time location of when the next shuttle will arrive. In addition to that, we’ve also posted physical schedules to the shuttle website. That way students know that the dispatchers are following a schedule as well,” said Colas.
While it’s unclear when exactly the materials needed for the upgrades will arrive, Colas wanted to reassure students that when the upgrades are completed students will be able to track the real-time location of the Shark Shuttles once again.
“The vendor that we have is working with our OIIT folks and making sure that all of the integrations and things like that are working properly for the students,” Colas said.
If you’re unsure when or where a Shark Shuttle is stopping, you can find the schedule posted on https://www.nova.edu/locations/shuttle.html or call the Shark Shuttle service number (954) 556-6654.
