BOZEMAN — It’s no secret that getting a ride to the airport isn’t always easy, especially for students. Now, MSU has a solution for that: a free airport shuttle service.
“I think more people need to take advantage of public transportation,” said MSU junior Jackson Borg.
“Especially going to and from the airport, it's expensive,” said MSU freshman Sadie Schmidt.
Schmidt says she is flying home for the holidays and in the past, has had to pay for Ubers to get to the airport.
“It was just expensive,” she said.
MSU's Free Airport Shuttle: Students React to New Transportation Option
Borg, who is from Colorado, also flies home.
“It’s hard to find a ride sometimes to the airport, and you don’t always want to leave your car there,” said Borg.
MTN’s Esha Walia asked both students if they had heard of MSU’s new shuttle that would solve these issues by taking students to and from the airport at no cost.
“My dad actually mentioned it,” said Schmidt. “When I come back, I’m going to take the shuttle back, so hopefully it's successful.”
“I’ve heard nothing about it,” said Borg. “Now, I have this option, I think I’ll use it in the future.”
Rebecca Eberlin, program manager for Off-Campus Student Life at MSU, says the school decided to implement this shuttle service because of feedback from students and community members.
“More accessibility of public transportation, ease of transportation, multi-modal transportation routes in the valley – is a really important piece of the puzzle and what helps keep Bozeman a healthy, thriving community.”
As Eberlin explains, the bus has a capacity of 36 people. The service is funded by student fee dollars and open to the entire community. The route will follow the Streamline’s Pink Line, with two stops along the way.
“We have four pick up and drop off times: two in the morning and two in the afternoon,” she said.
Those pick-up times are between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. near the Strand Union building on MSU’s campus. The route will be offered until December 15th and again in January and later next year.
“We’ll be offering more rides in March and again in May towards the end of the semester,” said Eberlin.
Eberlin says the shuttle has already seen high demand.
“We have seen a lot of students taking advantage of it. The feedback has overwhelmingly been really positive,” she said.
For more information, visit this link.
