The Student Government Association will offer a new transportation option for Loyola students on Friday and Saturday nights starting Friday, Jan. 31.
The new service is called “The Prowler.” It is a 25-passenger bus from New Orleans Tours, with which SGA has signed a year-long contract.
The Prowler’s route starts at 9 p.m. between the Recreational Sports Complex and University Police.
It has eight stops and returns approximately every forty minutes.
SGA will hand out fliers and wallet-sized schedules during SGA week, January 27-31.
“Nick [Poche] came up with this idea from scratch,” Anna Hall, music business senior and SGA president, said.
The Prowler’s services are free to anyone with a Loyola ID. The driver will be checking IDs as students enter the bus.
Non-Loyola students may ride the bus as long as they are with a valid Loyola student.
According to Hall and Poche, drama/communications senior and SGA Arts and Sciences representative, there is no charge for students because this service is paid for with the student transportation fee included in annual student fees.
Hall and Poche said the administration also provides some financial support.
The Prowler’s purpose is to provide safe and convenient transportation to restaurants, bars, ice cream parlors, and other popular destinations, Poche said.
One drawback that students must plan for is rush hour, which is expected to be around 11p.m. It is the time that the members feel that the service will be used the most.
The Prowler stops at eight corners, including Broadway and Freret, Maple and Adams, Maple and S. Carrollton, Napoleon and St. Charles, and Freret and Valmont.
SGA will conduct monthly audits to make sure everything is going as planned.
“It is very important to student leaders and the administration to provide safe transportation for the students, and we hope students will use it because it’s there, it’s easy, and it’s free,” Poche said.
There are other modes of transportation besides The Prowler.
The Broadway shuttle leaves from West Road Garage and runs from 6:50 a.m. to 12:10 a.m. on weekdays and 12:10 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
On Sunday, its hours are also from 8:10 p.m. to 9:50 p.m..
The Broadway shuttle that leaves from the Pine Street Lot by Cabra Hall runs from 7 a.m. to 12:20 a.m. on weekdays and 12:20 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and also from 8:20 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday
The St. Charles streetcar runs 24 hours and costs $1.25 a person each way. One-day passes are $5, and monthly passes are $55.
There is also a Broadway bus line that has stops at Broadway and Freret, Audubon Park, City Park, Washington Ave. and Pine Street.
There are also Magazine Street and Tchoupitoulas Street buses. It costs $1.25 to ride the bus and 50 cents to transfer.
The routes, schedules, and phone numbers can be found by calling the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority.
Tulane offers an Uptown Square Shuttle that operates Monday through Friday, and its stops include Freret, Uptown Square, and Law Road.
Tulane also has an ON/OFF Campus Shuttle that operates from 5:15 p.m. to 2:10 a.m.
This shuttle transports students from Tulane’s library to a home or car within a one-mile radius of the university every hour.
Tulane also provides an Uptown/Downtown Shuttle, which runs from 7 a.m. to 10:40 p.m.
All these modes of transportation require a valid Tulane ID and are only open to Tulane students.
Buses travel along Claiborne Avenue on a daily basis. Student can ride for $1.25 and transfers are 50 cents. (Pamela Howard)
