By Shelby Graham
Contributor

Here at NCAT, freshmen are not allowed to drive during their first semester here if they live on campus. This is to ensure that students maintain a proper GPA requirement of 2.0 before they are permitted to drive. Many students think that they are limited to things to do on campus that are within walking distance which isn’t true. Although students have the capability of catching an Uber somewhere, everyone may not be comfortable doing such. Students forget to utilize the Higher Education Education Area Transit (HEAT) bus that we have here that travels to many places in the Greensboro area.

The HEAT bus has 4 different routes that can take you to numerous locations so you are able enjoy Greensboro off of NCAT’s campus. Route 71 travels from A&T, UNCG, and Bennett’s surrounding areas to Four Seasons mall, Wal-Mart, and the train station. If you and your friends are looking for something to do after class or on the weekend, this route gives you the option of doing such. Route 71 bus runs every hour so you don’t have to worry about getting stuck at the mall. In addition to riding the bus to the mall there are many restaurants in the area and The Grand 12 Four Seasons Station movie theatre that you can take advantage of. Students without a car worry about how they’re going to get groceries and tend to forget that the HEAT bus will drop you off right in front of Wal-Mart at the Pyramid Village off of Cone Blvd. Even if you just want a day off of campus, you can visit UNCG and go to some restaurants they have on Tate Street. This includes Chipotle, and even East Coast Wings.

Another HEAT bus route is 72. This route takes you from NCAT, UNCG, and Bennett to the Friendly Center. The Friendly Center in Greensboro is basically like an outdoor mall. It has many of the stores that are also in Four Seasons such as Old Navy, Foot Locker, and New York & Company.  It also has stores that aren’t in Four Seasons mall. Such as Cold Stone Creamery, Sephora, Express, and Lane Bryant.

In the upcoming semester, when you are looking for ways to spend your time and you don’t have a car always remember that you can take the HEAT bus. The fare for the bus is included in your tuition so you don’t have to worry about paying for anything because it is already paid for. Even if you have friends that don’t go here and would like to ride the bus, they can also ride for a small fee. If you would like look into bus times and addition stops, please refer to the link below.

http://www.rideheat.com