Enhancements and improvements are taking place all across our campus and thanks to SGA, UWG transportation services will be upgrading as well. The Student Government Association has proposed a shuttle service from the UWG campus to Wal-Mart, and back to campus. The shuttle services will operate once a week on Fridays, leaving from the UCC promptly at 2 p.m. and continuously run to and from Wal-Mart until 5 p.m. If the shuttle proves to be successful, it will continue to be a weekly or biweekly shuttle.

According to SGA representative Brian Nunez, the shuttle idea was first proposed to him by the International Club, whose members have experienced, firsthand, the inconveniences of not having a car while away at school. Nunez quickly realized that this shuttle service would not only benefit students without a car, but also all students who want to save a little money. With this shuttle, students can use their refunds on things like groceries or clothing instead of gas.

It is true that this shuttle idea has been proposed in the past and failed. When asked why it was important for the idea to be proposed a second time, Nunez and fellow SGA representative, Madison Barnett, both agreed by saying, “UWG is a completely different school than it was when the idea was first proposed.”

UWG has more students enrolled, more on-campus housing, more buildings and more opportunities to grow. A shuttle system from our campus to the rest of the Carrollton community is inevitable at the rate the school is growing.

For now, Wal-Mart will be the only stop that UWG buses will take students to. Wal-Mart may be an effective first location for a growing transportation system because it is a superstore. Students can get just about anything and everything they need during the three-hour period that the buses will run. If this route proves to be successful, then the university will consider other stops outside of campus such as Target, Publix or other stores within the community. Other stops outside of campus will only become a possibility if the two trial runs of the Wal-Mart shuttle service prove to be successful and beneficial to UWG students.

January 20 and 27 will be the only two trial runs of this service to test that it will be helpful to UWG students. The shuttle will leave the UCC at 2 p.m. and leave the Wal-Mart parking lot at 5 p.m. sharp. Students that are not already on the bus at 5 p.m. will be left at Wal-Mart. If students do not use the service during the trial runs, then it will be taken away.

Nunez cannot stress enough the importance of students utilizing this service. The only way for improvements to be made is if students make their opinions heard. As of right now, UWG is one of the only schools of its size in Georgia without a shuttle system. As the university continues to grow, a shuttle service outside of campus would not only benefit the students and faculty financially but also improve the connection between UWG and the Carrollton community.