College Town shuttle debuts this Thursday
By HEATHER GACH hgach@sungazette.comArticle Photos
The Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce’s College Town committee, in partnership with River Valley Transit, are running a free “Late Night Shuttle” for college students on a trial basis from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and April 10 through 12.
If the trials are successful, the shuttle service could be made available on a regular basis starting next fall when students arrive for the 2008-09 school year, according to Bill Nichols, general manager with River Valley Transit, and Jason C. Fink, executive vice president of the chamber.
“The student representatives to the College Town committee came to us and shared with us a desire to have this in place,” Fink said. “It’s nice to be able to see that the students now are starting to have a comfortable enough level with us to be able to come to the business community to partner together.”
Nichols said the bus will make various stops in the Golden Strip area and downtown business district, as well as locations near Pennsylvania College of Technology and Lycoming College. A traditional River Valley Transit bus will be used, he said, but with markings to indicate that it is the college shuttle.
Students will need to show their college identification to ride, Nichols said.
“This is something that we encourage students to take advantage of,” Nichols said. “It saves them from using their car or having to walk ... we hope it’s convenient and encourages them to go into downtown more or any other place along the route.”
A.J. Francavilla, 2008 Student Senate executive president at Lycoming College, said the students at both colleges “want to see a reasonable means of safe transportation around the city” and, in developing the shuttle proposal, assisted in selecting the route stops to ensure the shuttle is traveling where students want to go.
“By selecting the stops, we did accommodate the businesses and accommodate students of all ages,” Francavilla said. “Ideally, we hope to see this program become a staple to the College Town
community and encourage our students to travel not only to downtown, but to all Williamsport has to offer.”
Fink said the chamber is covering the costs of the trial weekends. Should the shuttle become permanent, the chamber hopes to solicit its members to assist in funding.
Fink said ridership over the two trials will determine if the shuttle remains.
“What we’re looking at is if we can at least get a decent turnout for these two weekends that justifies us bringing it on board full time in the fall,” Fink said.
After seeing the turnout at recent “town hall meetings” on both campuses with College Town committee representatives, where about 75 students attended at both colleges, Fink said the demand for a shuttle appears to be there.
“What we heard was they want to be able to see and do things at area businesses in the evenings and transportation was an issue,” Fink said. “The biggest thing is take advantage of (the shuttle). It’s something that you’ve asked for.”
Nichols said a route schedule is available at River Valley’s Web site and brochures are available at both colleges.
The College Town committee is a program of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce. It is a partnership that includes Pennsylvania College of Technology, Lycoming College, Newport Business Institute, the City of Williamsport and the Williamsport Main Street Program.
For more information, visit www.citybus.org/.
