Simple Solutions:
Saturday shuttle service is exactly what Rider students needed

Rider started a Saturday shuttle that stops at Westminster Choir College (WCC), Palmer Square in Princeton, MarketFair, the West Windsor Shopping Center, Quaker Bridge Mall and the Hamilton movie theater. When I took the shuttle to get to the Quaker Bridge Mall, I was impressed.

I must say that the driver was friendly. He also kept up with the listed schedule about as well as anyone can. As a person who does not have a car on campus, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I never knew how nice Princeton actually was. I also never realized how much the surrounding areas have to offer.

I was not aware that there were so many shopping centers aside from the Quaker Bridge Mall. I was also not aware of how huge the Hamilton Theater is. The line to get in snaked out the door, and that was on a rainy day.

However, as good as the shuttle is, there are some things that the school can do to improve it. First, it can tell more people about the Saturday service. There were many people I talked to who did not know about it. Also, the shuttle is small. It seats approximately 25 passengers. I think if student interest gets to be enough, the University should have a second shuttle that will always be 15 minutes behind the first one just in case there are too many people waiting to get on, or people miss the first one.

With the schedule that the school has, if you miss the first bus that departs from the Lawrenceville campus at 12:25 p.m., you have to wait until 2:45 p.m. for the next bus to arrive. Then if you miss that bus, you have to wait until 5:15 p.m. for the next bus to come. I think adding a second bus would also alleviate that possible problem.

Also, if you want to go to the mall as I did, you have to wait through stops at WCC, Palmer Square, MarketFair, West Windsor Shopping Center and Mercer Mall. If you want to go to the movie theater, you have to wait through all of those stops and Quaker Bridge as well. Due to this, you should plan your schedule accordingly.

Also, the school should add more stops. For example, there should be stops in Trenton, including the Trenton train station for students who want to go spend the day in Philadelphia or New York. As I said, the shuttle is amazing, but it can still be improved by taking some of the ideas that I have mentioned into consideration.

For those of you who do not have a car on campus, you no longer need to hitch a ride with a friend to get off campus. If you want to take the shuttle and need a schedule, there are plenty available at the information desk in the Bart Luedeke Center.

— Mike Rokicki