A CATA bus pictured on June 8 at the CATA Transportation Center. Kaiyue Zhang | The State News
Rides on every on-campus bus route will be free for MSU students, staff and faculty starting this fall, the university and the Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, announced Wednesday.
Routes 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 39 will offer the free rides beginning on August 27 -- the first day of fall classes -- as will a new Route 38 which will provide service from Spartan Village to the on-campus bus station across from Shaw Hall.
The free rides are not permanent -- they'll be implemented on a one-year trial basis, at the end of which the university will determine whether to continue based on usage and satisfaction. Last year, there were 3 million rides taken on campus routes.
The change comes as a result of a renegotiated contract between the university and the transit company. MSU's general fund will cover the cost of providing the free rides.
ASMSU President Katherine Rifiotis praised the change as a way to increase accessibility around campus in a press release from the university.
"With college costs on the rise, it is nice to know that cost will not be a barrier for safe transportation," Rifiotis said.
In addition to the free rides, MSU also announced that it would begin providing year-round service on Route 32 between the MSU-CATA bus station and Commuter Lot 89.
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