The late-night bus service program which piloted last semester has shown "incredible success," and the program will officially be in effect this semester, said Darius Nabors, Student Council executive vice president and former chair of the Student Life committee.
University Transportation Services began the program to reduce the demand for Safe Ride calls early in the morning on Saturday and Sunday.
The late-night bus service runs every Saturday and Sunday between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m.
The program allows six buses to follow the nightly route. They will follow the blue and orange routes, making stops every 12 to 15 minutes, Nabors said.
When the University first piloted the program, the buses transported approximately 27 passengers an hour on Friday nights and 29 passengers an hour on Saturday nights, according to UTS statistics. The numbers remained the same at the end of the piloted program.
The numbers met the minimum requirement to justify the need for the buses, Nabors said.
"Popular pickups were from the library and Beta Bridge," he said.
Students around Grounds had mixed reactions to the late-night bus program.
Third-year College student Anjali Merchant said Safe Ride is not as functional in certain situations as the buses.
"Safe Ride refuses to take you home if you are intoxicated," she said.
Some students, on the other hand, said they feel more secure taking Safe Ride.
"I think Safe Ride is better because it will definitely take you to your destination," third-year College student Ashna Kibria said.
During exam times, some students also said they find Safe Ride to be a better choice.
Third-year College student Sabiha Zafar said she prefers Safe Ride because the driver tells her the vehicle's approximate arrival time, allowing her to squeeze some extra study time in between.
Although these students had mixed reactions, they all noted they would not change their Friday and Saturday night schedule if the late-bus service were absent.
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