A free shuttle to Chicago will begin a three-weekend trial tonight as a result of Associated Student Government’s efforts to restore the service, which ended in June.
The shuttle, which is free with a WildCARD, will stop about every 25 minutes in front of Sargent Hall and Scott Hall, and at Wrigleyville and downtown Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Two buses, one owned by NU and the other by Royal American Bus Co., will run Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m to 3 a.m. with a 30-minute break.
Each bus costs $44 an hour, an amount already in the ASG budget, said ASG President Adam Humann. If the shuttle becomes a permanent fixture, ASG will have to apply to the Student Activities Finance Board for money to continue the service.
The shuttle stopped running in June because buses often were late, skipped stops or did not show up at all. ASG members say they have worked to bring back a more reliable shuttle service.
“We’ve been trying for the last three quarters of the year,” said Humann, a Weinberg senior. “We were hoping to bring it back.”
To ensure greater efficiency, the shuttle will make only two stops in Chicago, a decrease from its original 12 stops, said Deb Garfi, a senior manager in University Services.
The switch to Royal American from Robinson Bus Services will also make the service more efficient, she said.
“We’ve had good experiences with (Royal American),” Garfi said. The company also provides buses for Northwestern’s intercampus shuttles and other services, she said.
ASG members will be riding the shuttle tonight to test the service and gather feedback from student riders, Garfi said.
“It will be more reliable,” Humann said. “The question is, will it be near perfect? If this doesn’t work, the Chicago shuttle won’t be provided in the future.”
The trial period also will test student interest in the service, Garfi said.
“We want to see how ridership is,” she said. “There have been comments that (students) wanted to see it again. That’s why we decided to roll it out for another try.”
Weinberg senior Caille Sugarman-Banaszak said she would sample the shuttle service. In past years, she used the old shuttle once or twice a quarter. Sugarman-Banaszak said the shuttle was easier and faster to than the El.
“I didn’t have to transfer, I didn’t have to worry about being on time for the Purple Line,” she said. “It was also way cheaper.”
