The Lion Traxx shuttle bus service for Southeastern’s students, faculty and staff has decided to extend its service hours by thirty minutes. Shuttles are now running on Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and on Fridays from 7 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

Previously, the shuttles ran from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday.

“Due to the four and a half day work week that Southeastern put into effect this semester, they have a lot of classes going later and these classes passed our original time of 4 p.m.,” said Gary Prescott, assistant director for shuttle services.

In addition to extending the service hours from Monday through Thursday, Lion Traxx also made a change to their hours on Fridays to better serve students on the days and times when they really need the bus.

“There wasn’t a lot of ridership on Fridays, so we changed the time so that we’d have more buses running when students were here, versus when they were not here,” said Prescott.

The number of buses running has also been modified.

“What really made it different was the amount of shuttles that will be running,” said Prescott. “We will now have three shuttles starting at 7 a.m. and running throughout the day, and on Fridays we will just have one shuttle running.”

Both the drivers’ schedules and budget cuts were taken into consideration when making this adjustment.

“We now run all three drivers on a 10-hour schedule – three on peak times and one on Fridays, to keep with the aspect of saving money during budget crunch,” said Prescott. “On Fridays we leave two parked and run one to meet the needs of the students.”

Prescott mentioned what purpose this modification has in benefitting students.

“It’ll allow more students to utilize the shuttles, and it’ll cut down on the wait time and also the amount of people we leave standing at the stops,” said Prescott.

The new schedule was made effective on Monday, Feb. 14, and will continue throughout the semester.

No service is provided on weekends, semester breaks or university holidays. The shuttle ride is free with presentation of one’s Southeastern identification before he or she boards. Lion Traxx shuttles will only stop for loading and unloading at designated locations, and stops are marked with a green and gold sign reading “Lion Traxx Shuttle Stop.”

For more information on the Southeastern’s Lion Traxx shuttle service, call 985-549-2877. To track the shuttles in real time, visit www.selu.edu/traxx.