To know East Lansing means to know the busing system.

Carting students around campus, those green, blue and mint-striped buses gave 3.2 million rides on university grounds alone during the last fiscal year.

"Not being familiar riding buses, some people get overwhelmed or intimidated," said Marina Acklin, an interdisciplinary humanities senior.

Acquainting the new influx of freshmen with the busing system is a priority for Pat Gilbert, director of marketing for Capital Area Transportation Authority.

"Students want to know that they're not going to look stupid and not going to get lost," Gilbert said. "It's easy to do once you understand it."

The most popular on-campus circuit is Route 31, which shuttled more than 1 million people between Brody Complex and Hubbard Hall last year, said Matt Oudsema, who works with CATA.

Other on-campus routes include a shuttle from Spartan Village to Akers Hall (Route 30), the Commuter Lot bus (Route 32) and Campus Cruiser (Route 33), which follows West Circle Drive and swoops through Farm and Shaw lanes.