VSG will provide free transportation to the Nashville International Airport for students leaving for Thanksgiving Break. The VSG shuttle service will run from Nov. 17-18 and has hopes of expansion for winter break.
The shuttle will pick students up at Kissam Student Center two times on Friday and four times on Saturday. Students will be picked up at Commons three times on Friday and four times on Saturday. Overall, 13 trips will be made. Senior Bryan Han, VSG transportation committee chair, said the goal is to provide this service for winter break as well.
“We do not expect this to go perfectly given that there are no students on campus who have ever known a time when VSG had shuttles running to the airport, so we see this as a pilot program to inform our winter break shuttles which should improve on the Thanksgiving shuttles,” Han said.
Han said the program was catered to student interest. VSG emailed an interest form to students on Oct. 18 to gauge preferred pick-up locations.
“By tailoring our pick-up times to the most popular times and locations, we hope that we can actually fill the shuttles with students, especially given that it will be provided free of cost,” Han said. “This will allow us to demonstrate to the VSG Senate that this is a popular initiative that deserves more funding [for winter break].”
The initial plan was for the shuttle to have four stops — Commons, Highland Quad, Sarratt Student Center and E. Bronson Ingram Residential College — but it was ultimately decided to stop only at Kissam and Commons.
“Unfortunately, the construction at Highland means that even if we booked small shuttles, it would be hard to service it,” Han said. “For now, we will focus on Kissam and Commons, as those will be the easiest areas to fit a bus through and minimize the chance of issues happening.”
Spots on the shuttle are guaranteed for students who register in advance, but walk-ins may also be allowed if extra spaces remain.
Han described the planning efforts as “cooperative” and encouraged students to ride the shuttle even if the stop is far from their residential hall so that the initiative has a better chance of obtaining more funds for winter break.
First-year Adele Sobieski, who plans to use the shuttle service, said she first heard about it from her RA and then received an email about it the weekend before Thanksgiving break.
“Personally, I find it very difficult to organize an Uber with people who have the same flight as [me],” Sobieski said. “Also, Ubers and Lyfts can be very expensive to the airport, even though it is a short trip.”
Thus, Sobieski said that she thought the shuttle service was “worth a shot.” She said it was easy to sign up for the service.
First-year Amilia Tejada, who is also taking the shuttle, echoed Sobieski’s comments.
“I thought it was super easy to sign up for the bus, it took me five minutes,” Tejada said. “I like that they had a lot of different time options that weren’t too spaced out.”
Tejada said that she first heard about the shuttle via a friend who is also taking it.
“I decided to use it because it is a more financially and environmentally sustainable option,” Tejada said. “My flight is earlier than a lot of my friends since my classes end early on Friday, so splitting an Uber wasn’t an option.”
