Nearly a month after university officials discussed the implementation of additional resources that ensure students get home safe late at night, a new pilot transportation program has been initiated to get students home during finals week.
UW-Madison’s Division of Student Life and UW Transportation Services announced Wednesday their partnership to provide a late-night shuttle service from Dec. 14-21 with the goal of offering students “24 hours of safe transportation options during finals week.”
The service — which has seven stops — will run between College Library and all of UW-Madison’s main residence halls. The service runs from midnight to 6 a.m. and departs from College Library every 30 minutes on the half hour.
According to a statement from the Division of Student Life, the pilot program is meant to “supplement and combine with other late travel options,” such as SAFEwalk and metro buses, that are not available to students at all hours of the night.
Carrie Kruse, director of College Library, told The Daily Cardinal that she was consulted by the Division of Student Life and Transportation Services about students’ usage of College Library’s overnight hours.
Kruse said she expects that many students will use the shuttle service because of the significant number of students who study during finals week at late hours of the night.
“During finals week, there will be anywhere from 300 to 500 students studying at three in the morning,” Kruse said. “At 1 a.m., there
Kruse said the pilot program will be an opportunity for the university to see if the after-hours shuttle service will be useful in the future.
“The cost and the turnout of the shuttle service will help form an assessment of what the next steps will be,” she said.
According to Kruse, the most important aspect of the late-night transportation system is for students to feel like they have a safe and convenient way to get home.
“Safety is the number one priority,” Kruse said. “The goal is to just give this program a try.”
