Designed for students who do not have their own transportation, don’t want to worry about safety issues on the way home from the bar, or refuse to pay record-crushing gas prices any longer, the Night Route shuttle system began running last Thursday for its third semester.
According to Wayne Bragg, Student Association Parking and Transportation director, this year will be bigger and better for the night route.
“I am just ecstatic. This is the first time that the night route has run for a fall semester, and the SA worked so hard this summer to get a long list of stops for the route,” Bragg said.
All students and Starkville residents are encouraged to use the Night Route system.
“We want the entire community to use our shuttle system. The goal is to get a transportation system for the city and bring the community and the students at MSU together,” Bragg said.
The Night Route will be free to everyone and will run every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night but will not run during campus holidays. The route will begin at 7 p.m. and will run until 1 a.m. on Thursdays and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Saturday, November 19 will be the last day for the night route this semester.
There will be two shuttles running the route and they will stop at each stop every 15 to 20 minutes, so no one will have to wait long to catch a ride.
“The driver of the bus carries a cell phone, a radio and has an emergency button onboard, so if a rider does not abide by the rules they could be reported to the dean of the university at the least, or the police could be called in more severe cases,” said transportation coordinator Mike Harris.
“But the kids are good kids, and we haven’t had any major problems in the past,” he added.
Last semester approximately 5,000 students and residents used the Night Route shuttle system, an increase of almost 2,000 from the previous year.
“The night route is growing at an amazing speed. We have more stops this year, and we expect almost 8,000 students to utilize the night shuttle this semester. We are all so excited to have the night route running again,” Harris said.
The Night Route costs approximately $18,000 per semester but is sponsored by most of the businesses where the buses stop. According to Harris, the shuttle will bring more kids to those locations so the businesses will gain from the night route, too.
In addition to the businesses where the shuttle stops, Coco-Cola, the Chamber of Commerce, Stromboli’s, Mugshots, Whiskey Blues, and the Resident Hall Association also sponsor the route.
As of Saturday, many students had already begun to use the night shuttle.
“We saw a few kids get off the night route shuttle and come in and enjoy ice cream and coffee this weekend, and we are excited to see a lot more,” said Shane Reed, owner of Cold Stone Creamery.