’Burg busses saving money for students without wheels

Photo by Josiah Garber

A Harrisonburg city bus passes the University Commons on its route through campus.

EMU students who haven’t got wheels of their own can borrow some from the City of Harrisonburg, though many don’t know it.

The Harrisonburg transit system has received little attention from EMU students in the past, while being ever popular with the JMU community. Perhaps this lack of interest on EMU’s side in the transit is due to a lack of knowledge about the bus schedules, fare, etc.

In fact, Route 5 buses make daily trips to useful locations, perfect for most college students’ needs, such as Barnes and Noble, Wal-Mart, Kroger, IHop, the library, and Cloverleaf Shopping Center.

Freshman Rachel Miller said, "I’ve seen [the bus], but I don’t know about how to get on it or what time it comes. I know nothing about it." A transit bus that runs Route 5 stops for pick-ups and drop-offs in front of the Suter Science Center at 20 minutes past the hour. EMU students can also board on Park Road at Park Wood Drive a minute later.

Jenny Hartwig, a sophomore, needed transportation into downtown last semester to fulfill community service requirements for her First Year Experience class. As she was without a car, the bus seemed to be the only option. Her Saturday riding experience was both pleasant and frustrating. On one hand, "the driver was very friendly," she said. "He tried to be helpful." On the other hand, she said, "Due to the fact I wasn’t familiar with the system, I wound up being about 45 minutes late to my appointment. It took a lot longer than I expected because the bus stops at JMU on the hour, every hour." However, she admitted that the ride itself was comfortable, as the bus was clean and "not crowded at all."

The price is reasonable, too: EMU students fork over a mere 50 cents for a ride into town which might cost $1.40 in gas and operation expenses for a car. But the price you pay in time might turn out to be too expensive. A 3.8 mile car trip to the Valley Mall in normal traffic should take about 10 minutes, give or take a bit. If you opt for the bus, though, you can expect about a 26 minute ride. The Harrisonburg Department of Transportation recommends that passengers allow extra time for possible delays when planning trips.

In addition to the time challenge, the buses only run Monday through Friday, 7:10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9:10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no Sunday hours, and busses do not run on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.

Routes and times are listed at the HDT website, http://www.hdpt.com.