As students bolt from wintry Syracuse to Spring Break, finding efficient and affordable transportation can prove challenging.

To combat the problem, the Syracuse University Student Association will start offering outgoing and incoming student transportation Thursday to hubs on the East Coast.

In the coming days, SA will provide shuttles to Syracuse Hancock International Airport and the Syracuse Regional Transportation Center, as well as buses to major cities like New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. SA aims to provide stable alternatives to companies like Greyhound and Megabus, which can overcharge during peak travel times without guaranteeing a seat.

“It’s something very basic we can do to make the lives of our constituents easier,” said Phil Porter, a freshman representative in the College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Student Life Committee.

Shuttle services to the airport and transportation center start Thursday at 4 p.m. and run every hour until 10 p.m. from the back of the Schine Student Center on Waverly Avenue, according to an email sent out by the Division of Student Affairs. They will run through noon on Sunday for students leaving SU as well as on March 16 for students returning to campus, said Aysha Seedat, chair of the Student Life Committee.

For students seeking more direct transportation to major cities on the East Coast, SA will offer buses that leave Friday and return March 16, Porter said. They will go to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Rockaway, N.J. SA offers buses to similar locations every semester, Porter said.

The buses to Boston and Washington, D.C. have already sold out, Seedat said.

When a student purchases a $99 round trip ticket for an SA-provided bus, the seat is guaranteed, Seedat said. Seedat has personally experienced the effects of overbooking when boarding a bus. Companies can sell, for example, 75 tickets for a 50-seat trip.

“The first 50 people in line will get to board and you get moved onto the next bus that arrives,” Seedat said.

Sergio Rodriguez, a sophomore television, radio and film major, said in an email that he typically takes a bus to return home to New York City.

“I don’t really have friends with cars, and I don’t have a driver’s license so it pretty much doesn’t leave me any other option,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez took an SA-coordinated bus home for Thanksgiving Break his freshman year, though he uses Trailways buses now because they are the “cheapest” option.

SA spent $8,000 on bus services this semester, Porter said. An additional $4,400 went to the shuttle services, Seedat added.

While Porter said SA has received criticism for putting too much emphasis on the buses, he said he believes they’re necessary to make the student experience smoother.

Said Porter: “I think we’ve been criticized for focusing too much on buses but this is a small thing we can do for students.”

Published on March 6, 2014 at 2:08 am