Auburn University is looking to improve the safety and security of students on campus by implementing a new nighttime bus system this fall.
The new night transit will assist in getting students from downtown to the stop of their choice, be it on-campus or off.
Auburn's SGA helped design a system that now allows two different busing systems to co-exist and run efficiently.
The Night Security Shuttle will provide security for the students going from parking lots to the dorms or other on-campus locations, but will no longer provide the taxi service for those in need of a ride downtown.
This bus system will run like the Tiger Transit, but SGA President Jacob Watkins said it is important the two not be considered the same, as the routes differ slightly and the funding for the two systems comes from different places.
"Everywhere it stops is still a Tiger Transit stop, but we've consolidated some of the daytime routes into one route," Watkins said. "There are about six different routes and ten buses running at one time."
Auburn students who frequent downtown know there is already a system offering rides across campus.
The Auburn Night Security Shuttle operates seven days a week, carting students to and from downtown from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.
This was not, however, the original intention for this shuttle service, Watkins said.
"The night shuttle was originally supposed to take students from on-campus parking lots to the library or dorms," Watkins said. "People that live on-campus were having the shuttle take them home from downtown. It just wasn't running efficiently."
Thomas Cantey, a senior in supply chain management, said that he has taken advantage of the Night Security Shuttle.
"It is extremely convenient for them to take you anywhere on-campus," Cantey said. "It's like a free taxi ride. Plus it saves a lot of people from driving under the influence."
The Night Shuttle will continue to operate at its normal time, but now, especially with the construction of the new dorms, it will be used in the manner that it was originally intended.
In its place the new night transit will begin operation on the first day of class and will operate as long as classes are in session, Watkins said.
"The first bus will leave from downtown at 9:30 p.m.," Watkins said. "You'll be able to catch a ride about every thirty minutes, with the last ride being at about 2:30 a.m."
Unlike the old Night Shuttle, however, the new night transit will not run every day.
The new system will only bus students around campus and the downtown area at the end of the week, from Wednesday night to Saturday night, Watkins said.
Matt Hoffman, a senior majoring in finance, said that he is in favor of the new night transit, but thinks it should run all week.
"People like to go downtown on any night of the week, not just the weekends," Hoffman said. "I just think it would just further ensure the safety of students and drivers if they ran it all week."
The new night shuttle may have some kinks to work out, but it offers something that the previous Night Security Shuttle could not: rides to both on- and off-campus locations, Watkins said.
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