Officials relaunched a program this semester to collect feedback on wait times and travel experiences from frequent Mount Vernon Express riders amid ongoing student reports of long lines and shuttle delays.
The Vex Secret Shopper Program, an initiative the Division of Safety & Operations debuted for the semester on Sept. 2, offers student volunteers up to $60 in Lyft vouchers for filling out a series of feedback forms to evaluate wait times, driver friendliness and shuttle safety. The program’s launch follows reports from students since 2021 of unpredictable Vex schedules and long lines, which students riding the shuttle say can cause them to arrive late to class.
Officials in the Division of Safety & Operations didn’t return a request for comment on whether officials are considering changes to Vex operations that this feedback may influence, how many students are participating in the program or how officials will collect feedback through the program.
It is unclear when the program officially began, but students could sign up for the program last semester, according to an email from community coordinators to their residence halls. Division of Safety & Operations Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator Stephanie Stinfort sent a separate email to students this semester with information about the program, a change in outreach from last semester, students who did the program last semester said.
Within 15 minutes of completing their ride, program participants must fill out a survey asking them to report the date and time they boarded the Vex, if the shuttle arrived on time, if there was a line to get on the vehicle and whether the driver greeted and checked students’ GWorld cards as they entered, according to an email from Stinfort sent to program participants earlier this month.
The form asks about the temperature and cleanliness of the vehicle, whether the rider felt safe during the drive, if a “supervisor” was present at the pickup spots and if the driver allowed students to stand during the ride to indicate how full each shuttle was.
The survey also asks if the shuttle had visible signage with the driver’s name, how to access the Wi-Fi and how to leave comments and concerns with the Division of Safety & Operations.
“All data collected through this form will be analyzed to better serve the students of the George Washington University,” the survey reads.
Last September, GW partnered with Reston Limousine to launch a new fleet of shuttles to the Vern. University spokesperson Julia Metjian in September 2023 declined to comment on why the University partnered with Reston Limousine and retired the former Vex provider service but said the propane-fueled vehicles would help “reduce emissions and engine noise.”
The secret shopper program offers a $20 Lyft credit to participants for filling out the survey for seven Vex trips between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., five of which have to be on weekdays and the other two during the weekend, according to an email from Stinfort to program participants earlier this month.
Students will receive $40 in Lyft credit for taking four trips on the Vex and filling out the survey between 8 p.m. and midnight, three of which need to be on weekdays and one during the weekend, according to the email.
Officials will send vouchers to students every one to two weeks, with a maximum of $60 in credits in a weeklong period, the email states.
Sadie Stern, a first-year who lives in Somers Hall, said she rides the Vex four to eight times a day to get to her classes and extracurricular activities on Foggy Bottom. Stern said the Vex, which is supposed to run every five minutes during the day, is often unreliable, which heightens her anxiety and makes it more difficult to manage her time with ADHD.
She said she hasn’t been late to class due to the Vex because she wakes up early to give herself an extra 45 minutes to get to Foggy Bottom.
Stern, who signed up for the secret shopper program, said she hopes officials will consider the feedback from the program and respond by ensuring shuttles leave on time and reducing Vex lines. She said because she has to rely on the shuttles to plan her day, she’s lost “all control” over her schedule.
“I shouldn’t have to wait for my transportation to get to a class when I didn’t choose to live on the Vern,” Stern said in a text message. “I wanted to be able to walk and be in control of my time.”
On weekdays, the Vex departs every 5 minutes from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight and once an hour from midnight to 7 a.m. On weekends, the Vex departs every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to midnight and once every hour from midnight to 7 a.m., with wait times spiking in the late afternoons, students said.
Sophia Hartford — a sophomore and a member of student theater at GW, which rehearses and holds performances on the Vern — said she signed up for the secret shopper program last semester and again this semester because she enjoyed getting Lyft vouchers and noticed improvements to safe driving and Vex wait times this year after the program’s soft launch. She said she now notices there are more consistent supervisors at the Vex stops who help control lines and ensure the shuttles leave on time.
“I feel like there were a lot of changes that happened like I think that drivers are more careful and everything,” Hartford said. “So I think that, the Vex has gotten, like, they definitely like read [the survey results].”
Eshal Malik, a sophomore on the club field hockey team that practices on the Vern, said she hasn’t experienced long lines with the Vex since coming to GW, but her friends who have had classes on the Vern have shown up to class 30 minutes late due to long wait times or traffic delays this semester. She said last year she once had to cut a 50-person Vex line on the Vern to make it to a midterm on the Foggy Bottom Campus in time.
She added that this year she has noticed more “backup” buses lined up behind the Vex, which take on more riders when shuttles fill up quickly.
“Usually we’d be waiting at the Vex stop for a bus to show up but now they have 1-2 empty ones on hand during busier times of the day,” Malik said in a message.
