As of Aug. 20 AppalCart, a public bus service that has been serving the Boone area since 1981, will have updated bus routes.
The updates are to help buses run on-time and more efficiently, according to AppalCart’s website.
“There have been capacity issues throughout the last year and the year prior to that,” Craig Hughes, transportation director of AppalCart, said. “There were students that just couldn’t get on the bus because it was full when it got to their stop.”
One way that issue is being solved is by having a more consistent bus schedule. For example, the Red Route will show up at bus stops every 15 minutes as opposed to last year’s schedule when a bus arrived to a stop every 30 minutes.
“New Routes start Mon, Aug 20. BREAK schedule, Mon. and REGULAR schedule Tues. NextBus will not work for GREEN or RED until Wednesday… NextBus will not be available for GREEN, RED, or EXPRESS after 6PM routes until 8/31,” according to the official AppalCart Twitter page.
Another reason for adjusting some of the routes is due to changes that have been done to campus and around town, one of the bigger additions to App State’s campus is the Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences, which will be served by the new Wellness District Shuttle, Red Route and Express Route.
Sarah Thompson, a junior nursing major, will be taking her classes at the College of Health Sciences for the upcoming semester. The ribbon cutting is not until Sept. 21, which will cause students to take classes on campus in buildings such as Edwin Duncan or online the first few weeks of the semester, according to Thompson. However, certain classes will be starting the semester in the building.
“I am hoping that the bus system is more organized, as anticipated because I have been left behind before,” Thompson said. “And the College of Health Sciences is too far from campus to walk for students that cannot afford a parking pass.”
For any other questions about the 2018-19 bus routes and schedule information, visit https://www.appalcart.com/new-map-schedules.
Story by Anna Dollar
Graphic by: Efrain Arias-Medina Jr.
