The University of Memphis students no longer have to worry about being late for class due to insufficient means of transportation.
Today the U of M will unveil its first ever shuttle bus, The Blue Line, at a ceremony in front of the Hudson Health Center at 9:30 a.m. to give students a sneak peak of the bus before the semester is over.
"Due to the growth in enrollment, the pedestrian nature of the main campus and costs and time necessary to provide additional parking facilities such as a parking garage, it was determined that this is the appropriate time to provide a means of transportation to assist in moving people around campus," said Angela Floyd, director of parking and transportation services.
The Blue Line will begin operating in May. In addition to moving people around the main campus, the shuttle bus will also run to and from the Park Avenue campus.
The campus community can use the service free of charge. The bus will run from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays. The shuttle will not run on the weekends.
The bus will run a course of 3.9 miles on main campus with 16 stops including the Central parking lot, the library and Wilder Tower. The route to the Park Avenue campus is 5.5 miles and contains nine stops including the softball field and the community music building.
Tyler DeWitt, president of the Student Government Association, said the shuttle might help solve the reoccurring parking shortage experienced most years on campus.
"Hopefully this will alleviate frustration over parking," DeWitt said. "This shuttle bus will enhance the U of M community - something that has been missing for a while. I think that this is going to be a successful program."
The name "The Blue Line" was chosen by the marketing and communication department from a poll submitted by 1,590 students who chose between the names: The Blue Line, TigerTran and TigerRide.
The shuttle is contracted through Groome Transportation and paid for by Parking Services funds. Groome Transportations, also handles multiple other shuttle operations at major universities.
Floyd said she, like DeWitt, hopes the shuttle will help diminish the number of those who drive cars to campus and are in need of parking spots.
"Over time we hope that increased interest in carpooling, bicycling and public transportation will eventually reduce the amount of cars on campus needed on campus," Floyd said.
DeWitt said he hopes that over time the shuttle will expand its route to include sports games and community events.
"We are a large campus with a big student body just catching up with the times," he said.
