One of the newest additions to Radford University and the City of Radford is the Radford Transit. It’s a thrifty transportation choice that’s better for the environment and for everyone’s wallet. Many students, however, are taking advantage of the new transit system so they can avoid having to worry about parking.

“I use it mostly to get to class because it’s faster than walking, but I don’t have to get to campus really early or stress about parking,” said junior Karlus Brown. “It’s a lot more convenient than the parking mess on campus and I didn’t have to buy a commuter pass, so it saved me a lot of money, too.”

The buses used in the new system are much smaller than the old Tartan Transit buses, so that means they can drop off and pick up at more locations and they are able to stop more frequently for shorter periods of time.

The new public transit system is a collaboration between Radford University and the City of Radford. This collaboration helped relieve the financial burden for both the city and Radford University.

There are a total of five routes, and each route has between 10 and 20 stops. The routes also cater to the needs of the entire population using it. Two routes, 10 and 50, mainly stick to campus running between the parking lots on campus and over the bridge near the athletic facilities and the Armstrong Complex. Route 20 travels from Radford to Fairlawn, where Wal-mart is located, and to the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center. Route 30 travels to west Radford, the Radford recreation center and downtown Main Street. Route 40 travels the longest distances from Radford to Blacksburg and Christiansburg. The times and maps can be found on the transit website.

For many students, Radford Transit is the best change Radford has undergone this year.

“I don’t have a car here, so it’s made my life a whole lot easier,” said senior Chris Montana. “I use it to get to campus a lot, and it’s nice that I don’t have to bum rides off of friends to go to Christiansburg or wait until I know someone is going grocery shopping. I think it’s given students that much more independence.”

However, some students have trouble figuring out the extensive route and stop schedules.

“I wish they would put the schedules on the signs for the stops because I can only access it on my computer and then I either end up waiting a while or running to catch a bus,” said junior Mariela Alvarez.

Some students also have issues with the times that certain routes run. Routes can run as early as 7 a.m. and as late as 2 a.m. while other routes don’t start until 10 a.m. and end at 6 p.m.

“It’s really inconvenient for some routes to not run at certain times while others do,” said senior Dalton Francis. “Who says no one needs a ride to those places anymore? It’s a pain and it can get really confusing. You can end up at the bus exchange center and be totally lost. I don’t think it’s fair.”

Though Radford Transit is still trying to work out a few kinks, the overall organization and system are considered a success. Many stops are in high demand and students as well as citizens of Radford are taking full advantage of the free service.

“It’s so busy in the early morning at the Greenhill Apartments stop that they had to add a second run,” said Area Director Dave Falletta. “So, it’s definitely been good for students, and they seem to like it a lot.”