The first Student Association-run bus shuttling students to Wegmans and Target went off without problems Saturday as students nearly filled the bus for each ride.

‘We were pretty close to perfect numbers. We were almost filled to capacity but didn’t leave anyone behind,’ said Taylor Carr, chair of SA’s Student Life Committee, who was present for the 1, 2 and 3 p.m. departures of the bus from College Place.

The bus running the route holds 49 students, and the bus driver reported there weren’t many or any seats left each time it left campus, Carr said. The bus company has not yet released the number of students who rode the bus, he said.

The bus is free to students and leaves College Place every hour from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays until April 30, except for March 12 and 19 due to Spring Break. It is undergoing a trial run for the remainder of this semester, and SA will work to bring the bus back permanently next fall if participation levels like last Saturday’s continue, Carr said.

Whitney Clinkscales, a sophomore public relations major, said she was excited to take the bus because it was a way for her to spend less money on groceries for her South Campus apartment. 

‘I don’t have a car, and the food in Goldstein (Student Center) is expensive, so this is a great way to be able to get groceries and other essentials for less money,’ Clinkscales said.

Nira Pandya, a sophomore political science and international relations major, took the bus to Target and used the opportunity to visit neighboring businesses, such as Panera Bread and the L.L. Bean outlet, she said. When Pandya heard about the bus trips, she looked up the shopping center on Google and said she found other good stores she could shop at as well.

Allison Hall, a freshman early childhood education major, said she likes the convenience of the new bus but identified one potential problem.

‘You have to carry the bags back,’ Hall said. ‘So you can only get what you can carry.’

jdgenco@syr.edu

Published on March 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm