Increased funding from Starkville’s 2-percent food and beverage tax has helped to insure the immediate future of the Student Association sponsored Night Route transit system.
SA President Braxton Coombs said the funding for the night route has increased from $17,000 to $79,000 in a two-month period.
“Student affairs and other student organizations receive 20 percent of the food and beverage tax. The Student Association receives a portion of that,”he said. “In the five years [Starkville] has had the tax, the amount Student Affairs received has increased from $180,000 to $274,000.”
The Student Association first began working with Student Affairs to secure an increased amount of funding in May, pushing the route’s budget to $55,000, Coombs said.
“Bill Kibler [vice president for student affairs], Bill Broyles [assistant vice president for student affairs] and I went to the board of aldermen to present our new allocations. We received a check for an additional $24,000 that went in to the money Student Affairs receives from the city’s tax,” he said. “We felt the best way to reinvest the money back into Starkville would be through the Night Route.”
Broyles said funding the Night Route will help to finance itself and other Mississippi State University programs.
“[…]Students can ride downtown for a great evening meal, [which will generate] additional sales tax collections that will come back to support student-oriented programming and activities,” Broyles said.
Starkville Ward Four Alderman Richard Corey said the program not only helps to raise revenue for the town and university, but also helps to keep roads safe for drivers. Ward Four primarily encompasses the Cotton District.
“I’ve rode with Starkville Police officers at night before,” Corey said. “They all point to the bus and say that each person riding will be one less potential drunk driver that they have to worry about.”
Coombs said students can expect the night route, which runs every Thursday night to Sunday morning, to have extra stops and run more efficient this year.
“We have expanded the route by five stops already,” he said. “They’ll get to these stops every 15 minutes or so this year.”
In addition to campus stops, the night route will begin incorporating more apartment complexes with a high number of student residents.
Route times have also been adjusted to bring more students to restaurants for meals. Coombs said the SA is working to rid the night route of the drunk-bus moniker.
“Our routes will begin at 7:30 p.m. each day, instead of 9 p.m. as they did in the past,” he said
Despite Student Association efforts, the expected budget has not yet been completely funded. With additional stops and an increased effeciency, Coombs said the yearly operational budget would be about $88,000.
“We’re confident we can reach our goal with additional fund raising activities,” he said.
Student Association Co-Directors of Transportation and Parking Tim Wolverton and John Sparks said the SA will begin aggressively advertising the route.
“I don’t think the night route has been advertised as it should have been,” Wolverton said. “We want to givr businesses the incentive to invest. They will reap the benefits.”
Sparks said the SA is preparing pamphlets and brochures, which will give businesses concrete reasons to invest in the night route.
Wolverton said that he hopes the night route can continue to be expanded to in the future.
“We have talked about setting up an endowment, setting aside some money each year,” he said.
Coombs said he hopes the route can be developed in the future to serve as a mode of transportation for not only students, but also Starkville residents.
“If we can increase the funding for the future, we could possibly keep adding on to the route years down the line,” he said.