Plans for an airport shuttle service subsidized by the ASSU hit a speed bump last night, as the Graduate Student Council (GSC) voted to contribute only half of the funding expected to be provided for the program.

Organizers for the shuttle service, which would transport students from campus to the San Francisco and San Jose airports at the end of the quarter, said it will still be provided, though there will be some logistical modifications.

The Undergraduate Senate voted Tuesday to provide $7,000 for the $14,000 service, expecting that the GSC would pick up the rest of the tab.

But in a detailed discussion of the funding proposal, members of the council expressed concern that because graduate students operate on a different schedule than undergraduates, there would not be enough graduate riders to justify paying half of the bill for the shuttle service.

“I think it’s a really cool idea, but I don’t know if half the riders will be graduate students,” said former GSC member Cullen Buie at last night’s meeting. “I think the GSC should fund it, but half sounds like a little much.”

ASSU President Hershey Avula ‘08, who is one of the lead organizers for the shuttle service, said that even though graduate students might not ride in large numbers, the end-of-the-year service could be a pilot for courtesy services at Thanksgiving break, for instance, when graduate students do leave campus in larger numbers.

“The reason we’re going all out on this is so students can see the program in its glory,” Avula said. “So, come Thanksgiving, students will want it.”

Ultimately, the GSC voted 5-4 to approve $3,500 for the program, leaving the shuttle service short of its funding goal. Avula said the shortfall in funding would probably mean cutting the frequency with which shuttles will operate — they were originally expected to run hourly from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Updated details for the service will be released shortly.

In other matters, the GSC unanimously approved next year’s ASSU Elections Commission, which will be comprised of Elections Commissioner Ryan Woessner ‘10, Mahlet Seyoum ‘10 and Anna Khan ‘10. Recent changes to the Commission’s bylaws require a graduate student on the commission, but no graduate students applied. Bernard Fraga ‘08, this year’s Elections Commissioner and a member of the selection committee that chose next year’s members, said that someone will be found over the summer or early next year to fill that role.