Students no longer have to abandon Boston's nightlife at midnight or shell out big bucks for taxi rides now that a shuttle bus from the Mayer Campus Center to Kenmore Square began operating Saturday night.
The shuttle, which is on a trial period until the end of the semester, made its inaugural run at 10 p.m. this past Saturday with about 20 students on board. The Tufts shuttle continued driving back and forth between Tufts and Kenmore Square for over four hours before making its final return to Tufts at 2:30 a.m.
The free bus runs two hours later than the T, and was seen as a major improvement for students wishing to take advantage of Lansdowne clubs.
"It's tough to get my groove on while I have to worry about getting on the T before 12:30," said freshman Richard Kalman, a frequenter of Boston's nightclubs.
Previously, students who did not want to stop dancing to catch the T often found themselves sharing taxi rides, which can run upwards of $25.
The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, the Vice President's Office, and the Dean of Students Office are responsible for offering the bus, which does not yet have a regular, formalized schedule.
Funding for the venture came from the Office of the Vice President, which will continue to pay for the service throughout its trial period.
"The Senate identified this as a need for students," Vice President of Arts, Sciences and Engineering Mel Bernstein said. "Students have indicated a strong interest for awhile."
The suggestion that Tufts provide a bus to Boston was first proposed a few years ago, but the initiative was put on hold while the MBTA considered extending T hours later into the night. "There was an expectation the T would extend hours, but that did not happen," Bernstein said.
While senators who worked out the details of the service deemed the weekend trail run a success, they said they hope to increase the amount of students who ride the bus. "The snow during the early part of last week prevented a full-blown advertising campaign," Senator Raji Iyer said. But the Senate was able to place cards advertising the service on nearly every dorm door last week.
The bus will run again on Saturday, March 31, but possibly to another destination.
"A lot of the Lansdowne clubs are 21-plus on Saturday nights. The Theater District has more clubs that are 19-plus on Saturdays," Iyer said. The long-term existence of the bus to Boston, however, will remain contingent upon the number of students who use it.
Lisa Smith-McQueenie, interim associate dean of students, and senators who lobbied for the service, said they will continue to workout the details of the new shuttle. "We'll take a look again after a few weeks and see how it goes," Smith-McQueenie said.
Some details that were worked out at the last minute included where the bus would stop once it reached downtown Boston. Eventually, it was decided that the bus stop on the west side of Kenmore Square. "The bus picks students up right next to the Burrito Max," Senate Vice President Eric Greenberg said.
Not until days before the bus was set to run did Tufts sign a contract with the bus company, Crystal Transport, which will provide the service for at least the remainder of this semester's trial period.
The bus is offered free of charge to Tufts students, and takes about 30 minutes to reach downtown Boston. Iyer and the Senate hope to have a formal schedule planned for subsequent runs so that students know exactly when to expect the bus on both ends of the route.
Providing students with a bus directly to Boston nightlife was the last item on this year's Senate Social Policy Task Force "to do" list. Other completed projects included extending Hotung Caf?© hours for special events, as well as providing police details at campus parties.
