For every student who has the perfect parking space outside his dorm and cannot bear to move his car or for every person left stranded at a bar after midnight, a solution has been found.
The Student Association has planned two night shuttle routes that will travel through downtown Starkville and down Miss. Highway 12. The shuttles will run from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Thursday nights and from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
Both routes will begin at the Colvard Student Union. One route will follow Miss. Highway 12 through town, stopping at places such as Foodmax, Bulldog Lanes, Kroger, the movie theater and Wal-Mart. The downtown route will make stops in front of Hawthorne and Cresswell halls, along Fraternity and Sorority Rows, Aiken Village and the Courthouse and will go as far as Papa John’s.
The service will run as a pilot program for one semester and is expected to start in two weeks, said SA President Josh Blades. Blades said it will cost roughly $15,000 to implement the new service on campus.
“We are raising the money by getting private sponsors. The university is also giving money to supplement the funds,” Blades said.
Rick Welch, owner of Rick’s Caf, is one who will financially support the project. Welch provides his own shuttle service, the zebra-striped Rick’s Bus, but does not think the new service will hinder his own.
“My shuttle will run in conjunction with the new one,” said Rick, who hopes that the SA’s shuttle will help to free up space on his route. “As long as it gives people a safe ride, though, because a safe ride is a safe ride,” he said.
Safety for students is one of the SA’s responsibilities and is one of the main factors in introducing this new system. Once established, fewer students will drive after drinking and fewer people will be on the road.
“Public transit has been in the SA’s radar for the past four years. We looked at the city of Starkville and how a public transit system could affect its businesses,” Blades said.
The university’s location in relation to the city impacted transportation choices, Blades said. The shuttle system will aid those without cars and make late night runs to Wal-Mart more feasible.
Starkville Mayor Mack Rutledge said he supports the project and hopes to expand it to a community level.
“It is very good for students to have alternate means of transportation,” Rutledge said. “Plus this means less traffic on the roads. More people can be downtown without as many cars. I look forward to the time when this service is available to the community and not just to the students.”
The mayor is not the only one in favor of this new service. Student Nicole Wyatt is also looking forward to the new shuttle routes. She thinks the shuttles will be safer and more convenient for student use.
“This means students can go out and have fun and do what they planned to do without worrying about how to get there and back,” Wyatt said.