VandyRide launched two new pilot routes, purple and green, on Feb. 3, following the reopening of 25th Avenue South, with stops along the street. There are now a total of four paths — green, purple, black and gold — that are serviced by the shuttle seven days a week from 5:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. CST.
The green route is an express route from Highland Quad to main campus. It circles through main campus and includes a new stop at Medical Center North on Garland Street. The purple route circles the black route in the reverse direction and offers a new stop at the Peabody administrative building. The old routes, black and gold, continue to operate as usual, with the same stops and times.
In a message to The Hustler, a representative from the Vanderbilt Transportation and Mobility Office said these routes were added due to high demand and conversations with riders.
“Our goal with offering more travel options is to enhance students’ riding experiences. Students previously expressed issues with the time it took to get from one part of campus to another,” the representative said. “By widening our services, students have better options with more routes to plan their day and shorten their travel times.”
First-year Sunny Xu said the shuttle offers her a safe way to get back to Commons from main campus after late night study sessions or dance practices.
“I love the Vandy[Ride] system. I wish the start time could be earlier, but it’s definitely very convenient late at night,” Xu said. “The purple route is great for students who live in West and North.”
Sophomore Elizabeth Li expressed a similar sentiment, although she shared concerns about transparency.
“As someone who lives at Blakemore, which is so far from main [campus] and the Highland and Blair area, the new routes have been so helpful for me to get back to the dorm without sitting through the black route for so long,” Li said. “I do think that the app itself doesn’t completely reflect the bus status. Also, some of the buses don’t specify which route they are.”
In a message to The Hustler, a representative from MoveVU responded to these concerns, saying they are continuously listening to student feedback and are working to “enhance their riding experience.”
“We are hopeful that the hard work put forth by our team will showcase the value of the increased services that VandyRide now offers,” the representative said.
Students can ride the shuttle on any day the university is in session and access real-time shuttle updates through the VandySafe app or Passio GO app.
