The T-Line bus now stops on Texas A&M University-Texarkana’s campus, opening up transportation options for students around town. The route this bus follows gives students access to Richmond Road as well as the transfer station to take other buses around town to the students’ desired destination.
In the past, the T-Line made a stop at TAMUT when it was connected to Texarkana College, but when TAMUT first moved to its current location on University Avenue, fewer students needed the bus stop. However, now there are approximately 300 students that live on campus and many others that commute to classes every week making the need for transportation options a lot higher. In August, the T-Line was on campus full time again.
Dr. Alytrice Brown, Assistant Vice President of Student Life, was on the committee that worked to bring the T-Line back to campus and states that she would like to see a second bus stop added to campus in the future. “I’d like to see a bus stop in front of the Science and Technology Building in the big parking area for route six and I’d like to see the bus that stops in front of BLV for route seven,” she said. Dr. Brown has heard firsthand of how the bus has helped several students in times of need of transportation. “I really think the students are using it and it’s been a huge help,” she said. Dr. Brown also added, “I’ve heard from a few students who’ve said that it’s been a real important piece of what they needed and what was missing because they can go grocery shopping,” she said.
When seeking out students on campus to speak about their perspective on the T-Line, a limited number of students who were interviewed had mixed feelings about their experience. One student said that a downside to their bus ride experience was that they were asked to quiet down multiple times. “We got told to lower our volume…We can’t even whisper?,” said John Droke. A student also expressed some confusion about where all of the stops were along the route. “They didn’t tell us where we were going,” said Andrea Loredo. Dr. Brown and some faculty members plan to look into the situation to ensure that student experiences with the bus are the best that they can be.
The affordable price of the bus ride was one thing that students appreciated. “For $1 for it to drive you all around Texarkana, it’s not bad,” said John Droke. Another student stated that “Overall, it is a great choice for students. While the ride may be a bit bumpy, the price is great and it doesn’t take very long to get from one place to the other,” said Andrea Loredo.
The T-Line bus that stops on campus is on route six that runs along Richmond Road. The buses start their routes at 5:30 a.m. and the last bus of the day comes around 6:20 p.m.. The bus comes to TAMUT Monday-Friday every hour at 46 minutes after and waits for three minutes before continuing on the route. The cost to ride the bus is $1 one way or $20 for a monthly pass that includes unlimited rides.