This week leading up to Thanksgiving break, Quinnipiac will be servicing shuttles in order to facilitate students traveling home.
On Thursday, Nov. 19 an Friday, Nov. 20, the regular New Haven shuttle schedule will be canceled. Instead, starting at 10 a.m., the shuttle will be running from South Lot to Union Station every hour until midnight, according to Shanon Grasso, the university’s parking and transportation coordinator. The shuttle won’t be making any other stops so the travel time is approximately 20 minutes.
This year there will not be a separate shuttle that takes students to the Port Jeff Ferry due to a lack of student interest. Last year there was only one student on the ferry shuttle, Grasso said. However, there is still a way for students to reach the ferry.
After taking the shuttle students should get off at Union Station. Next, students should get on the Metro-North Railroad going toward New York City. Once on the train students should get off at the Bridgeport, Connecticut stop. The ferry property is directly at the bottom of the stairs the students will take upon exiting the train, said Grasso.
In an email sent to students Grasso said the ferry is 300 feet from the bottom of the stairs when exiting the train.
Freshman Mia Martinez believes the extra tasks involved in boarding the ferry add undue stress throughout holiday travels.
“I think that’s kind of inconvenient to have a stop rather than just to go back to the ferry. It’s a longer process for us to get home, which is kinda where we want to be on Thanksgiving, not worrying about what train’s going where and what time and things like that,” Martinez said.
But Erica Cianciosi, a senior at Quinnipiac, believes the train services provided by Public Safety are convenient.
“I think that it’s nice that the university is able to give students a way to get to the train station, so that it’s not inconveniencing parents who have to come pick up freshmen who might not have cars,” Cianciosi said. “Or if you drove a car and don’t want to take it all the way home it’s nice that you can have a ride to the train station.”
While there isn’t a ferry shuttle for Thanksgiving break, there is a possibility of a ferry shuttle for winter break. Grasso is working with members from Student Government Association (SGA) to make a survey in order to assess possible ridership.
One venue that doesn’t appear to be a possibility for the future is a shuttle to the airport since the demand for an airport shuttle is scarce, according to Grasso.
For the few requests that Grasso receives, she gives students a list of companies that they can hire to get them to the different airports. Goairport.com and Connecticut limo are just a few places she refers students to.
Senior Tori Batiste, a Texas resident, believes a shuttle to the airport would help be beneficial to those who live out of state.
“Learning how to time my travel correctly so I don’t get lost or miss a train or flight is very difficult,” said Batiste.“If I had a ride to an airport it would cut down on cost and I wouldn’t have so much trouble figuring this out.”
