The Around the Horn, a free campus bus system, held a promotional event Thursday hosted by Journalism and Media Communication students.
The students enrolled in JTC 490, Workshop in University Relations, were required to pick something at Colorado State University that they thought needed more promotion and then create a project to promote it.
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Senior journalism and media communications major and student in the workshop class Alex Kolber said they chose Around the Horn because not a lot of students knew about it, but it is a great service that students are not taking advantage of.
“It’s a great, fast way to get around campus,” Kolber said. “It actually is faster to take the bus across campus than it is to walk.”
Kolber also mentioned that students fund the bus through their student fees, so they may as well ride it.
The class is taught by Tom Milligan, CSU’s Vice President for External Relations. Milligan funded the project.
During the event, the students in the workshop would take turns standing outside in the tent talking to students about the bus and gave away shirts, coffee and other snacks while others in the group rode the bus answering questions.
Mallory Baker, junior JMC major and student enrolled in the workshop, said the event was a success. Many students that stopped at her station did not know what the bus system was.
“So many people didn’t know what it was,” Baker said. “We hope more people know about it and feel more comfortable riding it.”
They also ran out of the free t-shirts they gave away to those who downloaded the Transfort app and rode the Around the Horn bus.
Baker said the cold weather made it easier to promote the campus shuttle.
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“We planned it in November because we knew ridership would increase,” she said. “It didn’t take much convincing [to get people to ride the bus].”
Baker said that, because of the cold weather, she noticed a significant jump in riders throughout the day Thursday. She said one of the buses she was on was completely full.
The bus gets about 400 to 500 riders per day, according to Baker, but they cannot track who rides the bus (students, faculty members or visitors) because the bus does not require anyone to swipe a card or pay to ride.
Baker said that she rides the bus fairly often and loves the accessibility of the Around the Horn.
“[The Around the Horn] connects all the main parking lots, so it helps students who commute get around campus,” Baker said. “It comes more frequently than a regular bus.”
Baker also encouraged people to download the Transfort app. The app, according to Baker, gives users a real-time view of where buses are and when they should arrive, so riders can wait inside where it is warm and go outside when the app said the bus will arrive.
Brittaney Vanzant, CSU senior biomedical sciences student, said she rides the Around the Horn pretty much every day because of the cold weather.
“It cuts down on walking time,” Vanzant said. “It takes about 15 minutes to get across campus on foot. It helps me stay on time.”
The Around the Horn is free to everyone, even visitors to campus. Jillian Myers, who works for Transfort and rode the on-campus shuttle Thursday, said she rides the shuttle frequently.
“It’s quick and free,” Myers said. “Even if you’re just meeting someone for lunch, you can both ride it.”
Collegian Reporter Sady Swanson can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan.
