What’s new, what’s old, what’s blue, what’s gold? At A&T, the shuttle service has a new route and name.

There are two new express routes in addition the campus-wide route. The campus-wide route will follow a similar path as the shuttles of last year. However, this is the longer route that Chief of Police Curtis Bigelow says takes about 40 minutes.

The 40-minute wait was one of the problems that caused the Student Government Association (SGA) and the police department to address changing the shuttle schedule. The idea began with former SGA president Calvin Williams, Chief Bigelow, and many other SGA members, who later formed a committee to implement the new routes. Bigelow said he was willing to work with student government and the student body to make sure campus activities like the shuttle routes work for students.

“It is important that the SGA and the police have a working relationship. Our vision is to form a partnership with the community,” Bigelow said. “We want to provide a better service for our Aggie community.”

Unfortunately, the change of staff at the end of the year caused the idea to be pushed to the back burner.

This summer, transportation and logistics major Gabrielle Ward called and stressed the importance of implementing the new shuttle schedule for this school year.

The committee decided to use the same buses and existing drivers from last year to levy costs. Fueling the buses for the entire day and paying the drivers an hourly wage are expensive, and new buses would have been costly.

Chief Bigelow said that the use of the new routes is a trial run and that students should see a survey out soon asking for their comments and concerns.

The “Blue Express,” one of the new express routes, travels directly from the Memorial Student Union to Bluford Library and back all day. The “Gold Express” goes from the Memorial Student Union to Alma Morrow Circle (between Barbee Hall and Williams Cafeteria) all day, making no other stops.

Chief Bigelow said he wants feedback from students about the changes to the shuttles’ routes.

“I have an open-door policy,” Chief Bigelow said. “I am always willing to talk to a student that has any kind of concern.”

Bigelow said he wants to get the chance to work more with the student body.

“Eight years ago, the SGA started the shuttle, so in essence it belongs to them,” he said.

Sgt. Vanessa Largent, the officer in charge of residence hall security, was another key player in assisting with the new shuttles’ routes.

Sgt. Largent said safety is another great factor that comes along with the new routes. With the “Blue and Gold Express” coming every 15 minutes, students will not have to stand at the bus stops for long periods of time. She considers this to be a positive step towards having faster routes here on campus.

Sgt. J. Kittles of parking services said, “The express should take a lot of pressure off the standard route, and buses won’t be so crowded.”

He also said that the Riverwalk van service expanded its route. Riverwalk vans now travel to Williams Cafeteria and Alma Morrow Circle.

Terika Palmer, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, was excited about the new routes.

“I feel the new route is a good idea because the three locations that the shuttle drop you off at are central locations,” she said. “Me being an engineer major, I live in McNair and Marteena, so the shuttle is very convenient for me being as how those buildings are on completely different ends of campus.”

• Tiffany Balmer