1. A tiny sign at the corner of Jackson Ave and South 9th Street. The sign is so small and with the white background and green or blue lettering, you can barely read it as you drive by. But it clearly marked a new bus stop, a product of the Oxford-University Transit system.
2. Just as I was squinting to read the tiny sign, a short bus style vehicle approached the stoplight and turned, and I saw the words, Get On O.U.T.! Oxford University Transit. Never had I seen this short bus before. I just assumed that it was some new thing for Ole Miss students, sort of like the notoriously unreliable buses that SCAD provides for their students in Savannah, GA.
I make a stop at the bank, and pick up the University of Mississippi's daily, student-edited publication: The Daily Mississippian. Monday, October 20, 2008. The most important headline I've read in Oxford news concerning green initiatives in months is placed beneath a giant photo of the AOPi's sorority house, with a tragic story about how their main water pipe burst during Rush week:
OXFORD PUBLIC TRANSIT OPENS
by JB Clark
Oxford-University Transit (OUT) opened its bus doors to the public for the first time Monday morning, and those in charge of the system have high hopes for its operation.
“In the first few weeks, we hope to have at least 300 passengers per day, but this is a totally new system so we’re anxious to see how the population sees it,” said Jack Howard, chairman of the Oxford-University Transit Commission. “We think that the more the public sees the buses, the more comfortable they will be with it.”
The transit system will be a free service until January of 2009.
“There are not too many public transit systems in the South, let alone in Mississippi, so we want people to get used to it and see its benefits before we implement a fee,” Howard said.
The commission will hold a public hearing before the fees are implemented, but the anticipated cost will be one dollar per ride with discounts for students and senior citizens.
“It’s going to be a great service to our community and to our campus as well. I hope many students get to ride the transit system and save on gas,” Vice Chancellor for University Relations Gloria Kellum said.
“Public transit is a good idea; it will help with gas and traffic. I cannot wait to start using it,” sophomore political science major Antonia Bird said.
The OUT co
mmission’s budget runs just over $1 million per year. Commissioners anticipate it will take $87,000 in passenger fees annually to keep the program running.
“This is a not-for-profit public service, but if we can get people to ride the buses, then we can expand to other parts of the city,” Howard said.
According to Howard, the system will greatly benefit Oxford’s disabled and elderly population, allowing them to get to medical facilities with ease.
“We made sure that the routes run to the medical facilities on South Lamar so that people who are not able to get around easily wouldn’t have to rely on other people in order to get to a medical facility,” he said.
The transit system will also benefit University of Mississippi students, especially those without their own vehicles.
“In a small town like Oxford, when there are so many people and so much congestion, to not have public transportation is out of the question,” sophomore English major Caitlin McNally said. “I’m glad that it is finally available.”
“I just hope that everyone understands that this is a public service, and we are anticipating that people will use it. We want feedback to help us better run things,” Howard said.
“In the first few weeks, we hope to have at least 300 passengers per day, but this is a totally new system so we’re anxious to see how the population sees it,” said Jack Howard, chairman of the Oxford-University Transit Commission. “We think that the more the public sees the buses, the more comfortable they will be with it.”
The transit system will be a free service until January of 2009.
“There are not too many public transit systems in the South, let alone in Mississippi, so we want people to get used to it and see its benefits before we implement a fee,” Howard said.
The commission will hold a public hearing before the fees are implemented, but the anticipated cost will be one dollar per ride with discounts for students and senior citizens.
“It’s going to be a great service to our community and to our campus as well. I hope many students get to ride the transit system and save on gas,” Vice Chancellor for University Relations Gloria Kellum said.
“Public transit is a good idea; it will help with gas and traffic. I cannot wait to start using it,” sophomore political science major Antonia Bird said.
The OUT co
mmission’s budget runs just over $1 million per year. Commissioners anticipate it will take $87,000 in passenger fees annually to keep the program running.“This is a not-for-profit public service, but if we can get people to ride the buses, then we can expand to other parts of the city,” Howard said.
According to Howard, the system will greatly benefit Oxford’s disabled and elderly population, allowing them to get to medical facilities with ease.
“We made sure that the routes run to the medical facilities on South Lamar so that people who are not able to get around easily wouldn’t have to rely on other people in order to get to a medical facility,” he said.
The transit system will also benefit University of Mississippi students, especially those without their own vehicles.
“In a small town like Oxford, when there are so many people and so much congestion, to not have public transportation is out of the question,” sophomore English major Caitlin McNally said. “I’m glad that it is finally available.”
“I just hope that everyone understands that this is a public service, and we are anticipating that people will use it. We want feedback to help us better run things,” Howard said.
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