Last night at 7 a two shuttle buses began their long journey through the roads of Starkville.
Yes, the Night Route is back. Last semester the Student Association worked with the university and the city of Starkville to provide on-campus students public transportation to various places in Starkville.
It gave campus residents who didn’t have a car, or perhaps did not want to lose their parking spaces, a chance to go out once in a while without having to bum a ride off a friend.
This year the SA has unveiled a new and inevitably improved version of the Night Route. This time the university and the city will not be footing the bill.
Instead, the SA has gotten several businesses around town to sponsor the Night Route.
The sponsors, which are also the stops along the Night Route, include more restaurants and now some apartment complexes. This is definitely a step toward reliable and useful public transportation on campus and around Starkville.
It’s great that the SA has formed a relationship with the commercial part of Starkville. The Night Route will be completely funded by the sponsors, even renting the shuttle buses from Mississippi State. This is especially admirable in light of the increasing number of businesses that are accepting MoneyMate and giving discounts with student I.D.
Yet this sponsorship is also admirable on the part of businesses. Not only are they acknowledging the student patronage of their businesses, they are also taking responsibility for their patrons and helping their student patrons be responsible for themselves.
This especially relates to the many bars and restaurants that are sponsoring the Night Route. The shuttle buses will provide students with a better outlet to drink responsibly.
Now that the Night Route is under way, and paid for by businesses we all frequent, it needs our support. If you’re going out for a night on the town, keep your good parking space until next time, save a little gas money and go out to have a great time.