University of Georgia adds 24-hour buses

The Campus Transit System at the University of Georgia in Athens is providing 24-hour weekday service for the first time. It’s operating two buses between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. with 20-minute headways.

“It’s being operated on an experimental basis this semester and cost will be in the $58,000 range,” said Ronald Hamlin, manager of Campus Transit. On the first night of operation, the service had 30 riders, with the greatest activity in the 1-to-3 a.m. and 5:30-to-6:30 a.m. timeframes.

Hamlin said the overnight routes support other 24-hour services available on campus, such as the Snelling Dining Commons. The Student Learning Center, which was operating 24 hours, recently changed its closing time to 2 a.m., which could cause ridership to fall short of expectation, Hamlin added.

The university has also extended its evening service on three buses traveling along Milledge Avenue. Those buses will be operating until 10 p.m. rather than the previous cutoff time of 7 p.m., Hamlin said.