With West Texas A&M University’s campus growing by the year, parking is getting more congested. WT’s shuttle service offers a way of transportation across campus.
“The service was designed and intended to benefit the students of WT by providing transportation from the satellite lots to the core of campus,” Elise Herring, Manager of Parking Services, said. “By doing so, we have successfully encouraged students to park off campus relieving some of the pressure on the main campus while still allowing to reach their destination in a reasonable time.”
There are three drivers in the morning and three in the afternoon. Along with those six drivers, there are relief drivers who fill in when another driver cannot make it to work. If all drivers are present, the relief drivers will help break up the shifts.
“We get a really nice group of people who come on board,” Elaine Brown, WT shuttle driver, said. “You see some of the same people, but not all the time, and every time I come around you see something different while I get to practice my right turns.”
Shuttle bus rides offer faculty and students the opportunity to converse with bus drivers.
“I like the convenience of the shuttle and meeting new people while talking to the drivers,” Kaleb Winningham, freshman student, said. “You learn a lot about the drivers’ lives, it’s pretty interesting.”
Each driver keeps track of how many people are picked up at each stop. The busiest pick up stops are at the Jack B. Kelly Student Center and the First United Bank Center. There is also a shuttle tracker to help riders see where the shuttle is to plan their trip. The tracker is available at wtamu.edu and on the WTMobile App.
“When people discover [the shuttle] they find it doesn’t take as long,” Brown said.
The shuttle provides security on campus and provides safe transportation. The service has recently extended their hours in the evening to accommodate those who have to walk or drive across campus after dark.
“Since we have begun the evening shuttle, we now can offer a ride after dark to those who need it to prevent them from having to walk to or from the Event Center in the dark,” Herring said. “The drivers also provide additional eyes and ears to UPD by being constantly mobile and aware of the campus. They have reported suspicious persons and dangerous situations on several occasions, thereby adding to the overall safety of campus.”
The shuttle has five main stops is currently operating Monday-Thursday 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
