Joshua Falcone – General Assignment Reporter –
Remembering a time when he needed to get from parking lot # 7 to class quickly, Southern student T.J. Jackson said he was grateful for the shuttle bus idling in the lot that could give him the swift ride he needed.
Southern Connecticut State University has many transportation programs, such as NuRide, U- Pass, Zipcar or the popular SCSU shuttles. SCSU shuttles presents’ many convenient shuttle buses for students, staff and faculty to use. A ride from the many parking lots on campus, an opportunity to go out to the local shopping areas or even trans- portation to and from Union Station in New Haven are offered through the Southern police.
For students looking for rides around South- ern’s campus, there are ten enclosed bus stops situated on the campus. According to the shuttle website schedule, shuttle services run from 7:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday through Thursday and from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Fridays. For students who need a shuttle after 11 p.m. they are instructed to call campus police. These Southern shuttles do not run on the weekends.
Most of the students who have used the shut- tle, like Jackson, are happy with the quickness and ease of the service. Jackson said that the people driving the shuttles also adds to the ride positively, for the most part.
“Some of the drivers are really nice,” Jackson said. “They will let you pick the radio station, and when you thank them for the ride they’re like
‘You’re welcome, you’re welcome’ with a big smile, others though, not so friendly.”
For students on campus without means to
their own vehicle, the Southern shuttle service gives them the opportunity to go to area shopping centers on the weekend.
According to the online schedule the shuttle goes to the Hamden Plaza, downtown New Haven, and the Westfield Shopping Mall in Milford. The shuttle to Hamden Plaza and downtown New Ha- ven (the corner of Elm and Broadway streets) runs on the hour from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. These shuttles depart from Hickerson Hall.
Senior Stephanie Delaney used the shuttle to Hamden Plaza in her freshman year to go to the grocery store. She was happy with it and found the service very reliable.
“It was very helpful when I needed to go get groceries,” Delaney said.
Southern also travels to and from Union Sta- tion for students, faculty and staff using Metro North or Shore Line trains as their commute. Ac- cording to the online bus schedule the Union Sta- tion shuttle bus runs Monday through Thursday from 7:15 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday from 7:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The shuttle drops passengers off at the bus stop outside Morrill Hall.
Student Vanessa DiMauro has taken advan- tage of the shuttle to and from Union Station and experienced mixed results.
“The service was nice,” she said. “Except I missed the bus because it doesn’t run late on Fri- day. I wasn’t aware of that.”
The shuttle’s last departure from Union Sta- tion on Fridays is 4:25 p.m. a fact which really irks DiMauro.
“I wished it [the Union Station shuttle] ran later on Fridays,” DiMauro said. “It would add even more convenience for me.”
