Residents of 29 Garden St. are demanding special priority in the sophomore housing lottery next spring to compensate for the inconvenience of living far from the Yard.

Protesting irregular and unreliable shuttle service, especially during meal times, dissatisfied residents are organizing an appeal to the administration for first-choice housing next year.

"I pledged to try to get a Quadfree guarantee," said Randall A. Fine '96, who sits on the Undergraduate Council's residential committee. "I think [Garden Street residents] are missing out on part of the Harvard experience by not living in the Yard this year."

Randall also said Garden Street residents should be guaranteed at least one of their top four choices in this spring's housing lottery to make up for the hassles they currently face with transportation to the Yard.

The special shuttle that is supposed to run every 20 minutes during meal times is often off-schedule during the dinner hours, according to Cynthia D. Johnson '96, who also represents Garden Street first-years in the council.

Johnson said the regular Quad shuttle bus sometimes passes by students waiting in front of the Garden Street dormitory.

But Carl A. Tempesta, manager of shuttle services, said he was not aware of the students' dissatisfaction with the shuttle service. He said his office had not received complaints from eitherfirst-year students or their administrativerepresentatives.

Some Garden Street residents expressed concernsabout shuttle delays in light of the upcoming coldweather. Others emphasized the issue of after-darksafety.

"You can sit out there for up to a half-hourand [the bus] won't show up," said Nadeige S.Genece '96.

Jeffrey S. Willard `96 said the shuttleschedule is unclear and that buses on their wayback from the quad never stop for Garden Streetresidents.

"I'm incensed," said Willard. "We've beenburning shuttles in effigy."

But Tempesta said that when the special GardenStreet bus is not running, the regular shuttleservice adds the stop to its schedule. He said busdrivers have been informed to stop at 29 GardenSt. on their way to the Quad if they are flaggeddown by students.

The bus does not stop at 29 Garden St. on itsway back from the Quad for safety reasons,Tempesta said.

Students would have to cross an intersection toreach buses returning from the Quad.

Many Garden Street residents say that theshuttle schedule is so irregular that they oftenskip Union meals and miss notices about Yardevents such as first-year intramurals