Syracuse University students heading downtown to check out the local nightlife may once again be able to spend their cab fare on something else.

The Student Association’s Armory Square shuttle bus, which was put out of commission by poor ridership numbers and scheduling mix-ups last spring, may be operational again by December, said SA Vice President Rigaud Noel, a senior political science major. Noel is currently working on a plan that will smooth out the kinks in last semester’s shuttle service and will boost student awareness of the service.

The SA debuted the shuttle on Valentine’s Day last semester, running it every half hour between 4 p.m. and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. After its launch, SA officials said they hoped it would provide more than just a ride to the bars. Students initially embraced the service, with 180 people taking the bus during its first weekend of operation.

But trouble was not far behind. On the shuttle’s second day, the bus didn’t run for more than four hours, leaving some students hoping to catch a Syracuse Crunch hockey game stranded at the College Place bus stop. The same thing happened again the next weekend. The SA did not have to pay Centro, the bus service operating the shuttle, for the missed runs, but the shaky start did not bode well for the service.

Poor ridership also became a problem for the shuttle. The first weekend’s strong numbers soon fell off, dropping to as low as 49 people for one weekend in April. SA officials blamed a lack of advertising for the poor turnout.

Advertising will be one of the focuses of the next generation of shuttle service, Noel said. Bus schedules will be posted in residence halls, and Noel is currently in talks with the Downtown Committee, which may fund advertising and provide gift certificates from Armory businesses to students who ride the shuttle. The new publicity campaign aims to improve ridership.

Some students speculated that the shuttle’s operating hours may have been the reason for the low ridership. Mike Janela, a freshman broadcast major, said that the midnight deadline doesn’t fit with the habits of students who don’t leave for an evening on the town until 11 p.m.

‘You can’t have a student bus and plan on 30-year-olds getting on,’ Janela said.

Noel said he has also been told by Centro officials that last semester’s scheduling problems will not happen again. For some students, consistency will be crucial to the shuttle.

‘I’d just be afraid to get left behind,’ said Jason Buttura, a senior psychology and public communications major. ‘If you’re going home from Armory at night, you need a guaranteed ride back.’

Concrete plans for the shuttle’s future should be available within the next two weeks. Noel hopes to have the bus running by December, so that students can do their holiday shopping in the Square.

Published on September 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm