Zona Zoo canceled its $75 road trip for the Arizona football team’s game against then No. 10 USC this weekend, in part because of issues with the bus company slated to provide transportation to Southern California.

The company, which Zona Zoo director David Roost declined to identify, did not provide Zona Zoo its tax identification information, which was necessary to complete the transaction, despite repeated requests for it. Zona Zoo does not plan to work with the company in the future.

Zona Zoo had a backup plan, but that bus company’s $10,000 cost for a 90-student trip did not make sense to Roost. The trip was called off Wednesday, and students were offered full refunds.

“”A big reason for why we had to cancel was because it was difficult to work with them, but the other argument is we could have played our cards better,”” Roost said. “”We could have tried to get things done sooner. There’s always more that we could have done.

“”While they were probably the most obvious reason, we were responsible also. We put as much as we could into it at the time, but there’s always more we could have done.””

Roost sent students signed up for the trip a personal e-mail explaining the trip’s cancellation. He sent another e-mail over the Zona Zoo listserv Friday morning offering tickets to the sold-out game against the Trojans without the transportation, to allow students to still attend the contest and defray some of Zona Zoo’s costs.

“”We’re so bummed, especially the day we had to cancel it, it seriously felt like somebody died,”” Roost said. “”We all put so much energy into it and it was the last thing we wanted to do.””

ASUA president Tommy Bruce originally said Zona Zoo planned on taking four road trips this year: two for football and two for basketball.

One football trip remains after this cancellation, for the Dec. 1 game at ASU. The basketball trip to ASU had to be called off because that game occurs during winter break, leaving a basketball road trip to either USC or UCLA.

Roost said he plans on taking the money saved from the canceled USC football trek for another trip, possibly for a men’s basketball tournament game or for a baseball or softball road contest.

“”Because we had to cancel this, we’re going to make up for it,”” Roost said.