By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
Salisbury city buses will soon be adding several stops in the Catawba College area in hopes of serving students and residents in that neighborhood.
The pilot program, which will extend from Oct. 13 to May 8, 2009, will try to determine whether the ridership merits going beyond the trial six-month period.
The Salisbury Transit System and the college’s Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling reached an agreement leading to the trial service.
City buses will pick up and drop off riders at three sites on the campus:
– The corner of Brenner and Summit avenues near the College Facilities Office.
– The corner of West Corriher and Brenner avenues near the Music Annex Building.
– The corner of West Innes Street and Summit Avenue near Hurley Residence Hall.
Buses will stop at these locations Monday-Friday at 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
On Saturdays, the buses will stop at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Catawba students riding the bus will be able to purchase discounted tickets for 50 cents each by showing their student identifications.
A college press release says officials are determining an on-campus location where the discounted tickets can be purchased. On boarding the bus, students will be required to show their discounted tickets and the college IDs.
The trial program also hopes residents around the school and college employees take advantage of the public transit option. They will have to pay the standard $1 fare.
Tickets have no expiration date.
College officials will be distributing information about the new Salisbury Transit stops from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 1 in the Leonard Lounge of Catawba College.
“I really think our students will take advantage of this service,” said Lisa Cardwell of the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling. “Rising gas costs have a tendency to eat into college students’ budgets, and Salisbury Transit will provide them with an affordable and safe alternative to get where they need to go.”
In a press release, Cardwell thanked Salisbury Public Services Director Tony Cinquemani and Transit Manager Rodney Harrison for their help. She also credited Catawba seniors Corey Darnell and Megan Spidell for keeping efforts alive with the city to have bus service to the campus.
“We simply built on the research Corey Darnell had begun two years ago,” Cardwell said. “These two students are the most enthusiastic supporters of this we have on campus, and we’ll depend on them to rally their fellow students to ride the bus.”
For information on Salisbury Transit routes, visit the Web site at www.salisburync.gov/transit or call 704-638-5252.
Regular Salisbury Transit routes already run on the northern and southern sides of Livingstone College and to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.