Syracuse University students no longer need to worry about catching the last South Campus bus back at 3 a.m. during the weekend.

A new bus service, the Late Night Orange Express, will be implemented beginning Feb. 4. The service will run between 3:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to an SU news alert e-mailed to students Monday.

The bus, run by Caz Limo and Tours, will operate from College Place to Day and Flint halls and then through South Campus and the Goldstein Student Center before heading back to College Place, according to the e-mail. This route will leave College Place at 3:30 a.m., 4:15 a.m. and 5 a.m.

There will also be a route that will bring students to West Campus, serving Sadler, Lawrinson and Brewster/Boland/Brockway halls, that will stop at the corner of Irving Avenue and Forestry Drive and at the corner of Henry and Van Buren streets, according to the alert. This route will leave College Place at 4 a.m. and 4:45 a.m.

The service was put in place at the request of the Department of Public Safety to reduce the number of student transports between 3:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., said Scot Vanderpool, manager of Parking and Transit Services at SU, in an e-mail.

‘This will allow the Department of Public Safety the ability to concentrate more on student safety,’ Vanderpool said.

DPS officials could not be reached for comment by The Daily Orange.

The bus will not be labeled, Vanderpool said, but it will be the only bus service available at College Place between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Jayme Brown, a sophomore writing major, said she thinks this service will be valuable for students who are going out on the weekend.

‘I know a lot of people who have gotten stuck places and haven’t wanted to walk back, especially people living in B/B/B, since all of the parties and stuff are over on Comstock,’ she said. ‘I know this will be an asset to all of the people who go out to parties and need a ride back.’

The bus drivers have been instructed to pick up students at any safe stops along the way, which include students on South Campus headed back to Main Campus, Vanderpool said.

Students will be required to show their SU IDs to board the bus, according to the news alert. Vanderpool said this is for the protection of all students. But if it’s one instance in which students are without their SU IDs, the drivers will still allow them to board the bus, he said.

Both Caz Limo and Centro were contacted by SU about this new service. Vanderpool said the decision on who would run the service was based on which company could implement the service fastest. Vanderpool said the service was needed as soon as possible.

Officials from Caz Limo could not be reached for comment by The Daily Orange.

Vanderpool said the research done regarding the extra late-night service shows it is most needed during the weekend. He said the intent is to run the service only during the weekend, unless there is a change in the current trend.

Vanderpool said this service will be monitored like any new service, and changes may or may not be made next fall.

He said: ‘We really hope this will be successful, and if it is a success, we’ll see it again in the fall.’

medelane@syr.edu

 

Published on January 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani