Students climbed onto the Euclid Shuttle on Saturday night in groups of two, four or sometimes ten.

They sat down, laughing and chatting as the bus bumped through the University Hill neighborhood at about 11:30 p.m., delivering members of the Syracuse University community to parties or home after a long night.

“There’s a perception that (the Euclid) area may be dangerous at night,” said James Franco, the university’s Student Association president. “If you can treat students’ peace of mind instead of having to take that 15-, 20-minute walk home, you can just hop on a bus, that helps.”

The Euclid Shuttle, a pilot program bus that drives students through heavily trafficked areas around the University Hill campus and residence halls, started service last weekend.

The shuttle transports students through university-area neighborhood locations such as Euclid Avenue, Ostrom Avenue, Marshall Street and Westcott Street. While the bus’ route does not run through South Campus, it stops near residence halls including Sadler, Lawrinson and Haven Halls. The shuttle runs from 10:30 p.m. to 3:25 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Most students riding the shuttle said they discovered the bus through emails sent by Franco or by reading The Daily Orange. Some students, though, who boarded the shuttle Saturday night on Stratford Street said they simply saw it and got on when it pulled over.

Zaid Khan, a graduate student studying information management in the School of Information Studies, usually takes the East Campus bus route to weekday work shifts at residence halls. He said he would use the Euclid Shuttle daily, if it were available.

“It’s more useful for us because there’s a lot more evening classes for us … it’s easier to get back home,” Khan said.

Molly Lepeska, a bioengineering major, said that despite the bus’ late arrival, “the shuttle was very clean and convenient.”

Nobody had gotten sick on the shuttle as of Saturday night, said bus driver George Anderson. He said students riding the shuttle had been pleasant and polite, regardless of whether they had been drinking.

Brian Aitken, a sophomore in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, who rode the shuttle Saturday night, said he thought it was a safer way to get around.

The shuttle was a major proposal during Franco’s and Vice President Angie Pati’s campaign in spring 2017. The shuttle would help improve student safety, Franco said, and can also shield students from the harsh winter weather that hits Syracuse every year.

The project, created by SA in collaboration with the university and the Graduate Student Organization, is funded through Invest Syracuse, a $100 million university initiative to “enhance the student experience.” After receiving positive feedback from students, university administration felt the idea fell within the Invest Syracuse initiative’s mission, Franco said.

The shuttle is one of the first initiatives funded by Invest Syracuse, said SU Chancellor Kent Syverud in a recent speech at the Life Sciences Complex. The shuttle should be monitored closely and run reliably, Syverud added.

“We have a responsibility as a university Student Association to help our students in the best way we can,” Franco said. “So, if we can get them home safely from an activity they’re already going to do, I’m more than happy to help do that.”

Here is the current list of Euclid Shuttle stops, according to the Parking and Transit Services website:

• College Place at Lyman Hall
• Intersection of East Raynor Avenue and Irving Avenue
• Intersection of Irving Avenue and Waverly Avenue
• Intersection of East Adams Street and Walnut Avenue
• Intersection of Comstock Avenue and Madison Street
• Intersection of Euclid Avenue and Livingston Avenue
• Intersection of Euclid Avenue and Lancaster Avenue
• Intersection of Westcott Street and Jerome Street
• Intersection of Stratford Street and Ostrom Avenue

Published on January 23, 2018 at 10:38 pm

Contact Kennedy: krose100@syr.edu | @KennedyRose001