With the new (and frigid) semester upon us, Villanova students are adjusting to both the winter weather conditions and their new schedules. This means new classrooms, new class times and new routes and paths. This can pose a challenge when the brisk conditions are discouraging students from going to class. Whether the snow and chilly air is too unbearable or the walk is simply too long, the free school shuttles are a remedy to both.
Villanova’s Wildcat Shuttle runs from 7:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The shuttles take six stops total, which cover all three campuses, coming back to any given stop every 25 minutes. The schedule can be found on the Villanova website or the NovaSafe app, which has real time updates of where the shuttle is at any given moment.
“I get to my destination the time it says on the app,” freshman Hannah Sullivan said. “It is getting more reliable.”
Sullivan uses the shuttle for late-night dance practices on West Campus, which is quite a hike from South Campus, where most freshmen are housed. Her only complaint is that the shuttle’s last stop is at 9 p.m., an hour before her practice ends. This leaves her to walk back in the dark and cold at 10 p.m.
Other students may have sports practices on another campus or are visiting friends who live far away. Main Campus freshmen can take the shuttle to eat with South Campus freshmen in the Donahue dining hall. The shuttle is particularly helpful in those scenarios because it encourages and facilitates students going out and doing activities even with the winter weather.
There are also students who utilize the bus to go to and from class, especially South Campus freshmen who have classes on West Campus. The walk from South to West is (according to Google Maps) approximately a 19-minute excursion. This may not seem too bad on paper, but keep in mind that, in the early hours of the morning or during the freezing cold winds, it can feel like an eternity.
However, taking the shuttle means getting to a destination a little early and waiting in the cold for the shuttle to arrive. Showing up exactly on time creates the risk of not getting a seat or missing the bus altogether. To counter this, there are express stops at South Campus, the Main Gate and Connelly Circle between 7:30 and 8:00 am, when a rush of students are trying to get to their first class. This allows for a maximum amount of trips and it also gets rid of any wasted time at the additional stops along the way that South Campus students would not be needing (like the law school).
The scheduled stops happen at the same times every single day, which make it easy to tell when the shuttle will be coming, even if the app may not be accurate. According to Villanova’s website, those with disabilities can call to request a mobility shuttle, which runs in addition to the Wildcat Shuttle.
Overall, the Wildcat Shuttle is well-used, relatively timely and encourages students to go out to different parts of campus even when the weather is not cooperating. It is another way that creates the community feeling and interconnectedness of Villanova. Although Villanova’s campus may not be as big as other campuses that utilize shuttles, it is still very beneficial to have them. If students are looking to figure out how the shuttles fit into their class and activities schedule, they can visit the Villanova Parking & Transportation website or download the NovaSafe app to find specific times and locations.
