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Safe Ride and other late night and early morning transportation options

August 16, 2019
Pictured is the signage at the CATA Entertainment Express bus stop on Grand River Avenue. The bus runs along CATA's 4 route.
Pictured is the signage at the CATA Entertainment Express bus stop on Grand River Avenue. The bus runs along CATA's 4 route. —
Photo by Matt Schmucker | The State News

Michigan State’s campus is large and, during the evening and morning, it can be difficult to find transportation.

Here are some alternatives to walking home alone late at night or in the early morning — whether it be for a late-night study session at the library or for an early-morning job. 

Safe Ride 

The Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, provides Safe Ride, a late-enight transportation service to reduce assault and drunk driving-related accidents on campus. Safe Ride drivers are non-judgmental and prepared for anything you may need while getting home safely.

You can request a Safe Ride by downloading the TransLoc Rider App and selecting Michigan State University. Then, use your MSU NetID to create an account. The service is running if there is a blue rider icon in the lower left hand corner of the app. The service is not running if that icon is gray.

When using Safe Ride, you’re only able to share the ride with up to two guests. It can refuse to provide service if you are requesting a ride somewhere other than your home, asking for multiple rides in one night, requesting transportation for more than two other guests, or making the driver wait for more than five minutes upon arrival. 

Safe Ride has a wheelchair-accessible vehicle that can be requested, which covers addresses within the boundaries of East State Road, Mount Hope Road, Park Lake Road and U.S. 127.

StateWalk

MSU’s Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity, offers StateWalk, which is a free late- night service provided to students who study into the night at the MSU library. 

Students from Alpha Phi Omega will walk you to any place on campus Sunday through Thursday from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

MSU Night Owl

MSU Night Owl, provided by the Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, is a great option for students who may have a late-night or early-morning job on campus.

The Night Owl will transfer students from any two places on campus and will arrive within 20 minutes after you place a call.

The student fare is 60 cents per ride, which is the same rate as a normal CATA bus ride. Students can also buy semester passes, 31 day passes or 10-Ride cards. The Night Owl runs weekdays from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. and on weekends from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m.

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