The AppalCart Board held a meeting Monday where they voted unanimously to adopt potential route and stop changes for fall 2025, including the addition of an Orange Night Owl route.
This proposed new route starts and ends at ASU College Street Station, then goes south down Hardin Street and Blowing Rock Road toward its intersection with Highway 221. It then travels back up north toward King Street and heads east until it reaches the South Fork New River. From there, it turns around and heads back toward campus.
The Orange Night Owl route will be slightly more extensive than the daytime Orange route, AppalCart Director Craig Hughes said, because traffic is less of a concern after 6 p.m.
Hughes said the request for this route came from the Student Government Association, which was concerned about the lack of access to the east side of Boone on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Quint David, chair of the AppalCart Board, said most requests for new routes or route changes come from SGA or App State because students make up the majority of AppalCart’s ridership.
The AppalCart Board is composed of AppalCart employees, government officials, representatives from App State and community members. The board votes on route changes, budget decisions and more.
At this meeting, the board also discussed the double-decker bus, which is officially coming to Boone after previously being put on a trial-run in 2021.
Hughes said the new bus will undergo inspection next week and is expected to be delivered sometime in June.
There are a few possibilities for which route the double-decker bus will be placed on, Hughes said. AppalCart wants to use the new vehicle to prevent passenger congestion on heavily used routes such as the Pop 105, Pink or Express routes.
The board also voted to move forward with the 2025-26 budget for AppalCart. A public hearing for this budget will be held on June 2. After that, the board is able to make changes and vote to fully adopt it.
The budget includes monetary allocations for two electric buses and charging stations which will be partially funded by state and federal grants, Hughes said.
Starting Friday, AppalCart will begin running on its break schedule and will resume its regular schedule Aug. 10 with a new route for students and community members.
