Osgood 1
Molly Osgood
Sarah Burt
ENC 1101
11 December 2012
Take a Ride on the Florida Gulf Coast University Shuttle!
It’s finally the weekend and you want to have fun shopping and dining with friends. The
only problem is you don’t have a car to transport yourself to the nearest shopping area. The
Florida Gulf Coast University shuttle can take you! The shuttle is a free service to Florida Gulf
Coast University students. The shuttle provides transportation on and off campus. It runs weekly
to campus and goes to the Gulf Coast Town Center on the weekends.
Starting at seven in the morning, the bus comes to Palmetto Hall to pick up students for
class. The bus runs until ten at night. Monday through Friday the bus runs frequently, running
every fifteen minutes or so. The buses are big in size; they sit about forty students on the biggest
bus and twenty on the smaller buses. The shuttle has been a great help when it has been cold or
raining outside. Riding the shuttle can protect you from those afternoon rain showers or those
mornings when it’s frigid cold outside. I usually ride my bike to campus, but when I see a rain
cloud, I take the shuttle. The bus drivers are accommodating to students because if you have a
class in the Art or Music buildings they will take you before they drive to main campus. The
library is close to this stop as well. Even though walking to campus is good exercise, taking the
shuttle will transfer people to campus faster. The shuttle doesn’t just come to South Village, but
there are buses running throughout the day for North and West Lake Village. Two buses run
from South Village, two buses from North Lake Village, and one from West Lake Village.
Osgood 2
People might say, “Why can’t I just park my car on campus?” Since freshman can’t park their
cars on campus until five p.m., the shuttle is another reason to take advantage of this opportunity.
Sitting next to strangers on the shuttle is a great opportunity to meet new people and make new
relationships. The shuttle can also drop you off at the many campus restaurants, including Home
Zone, Chick-fil-A, and Starbucks.
Coming into a college setting, I was not going to have a car on campus. I didn’t know
how I was going to get around during the weekend. In the evenings on the weekend, the shuttle
will take you to the Gulf Coast Town Center. Before it stops at one of the multitude of stores the
town center has to offer, the shuttle stops at the commons in North Lake Village. Once the bus
reaches the town center, there are three stops the driver will take you: Target, the Fire Pit
restaurant, and the Regal movie theater. A bright yellow piece of paper on the bus has the printed
schedule. It picks up from the stops every hour or so. The shuttle runs till 10:15 p.m. Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday. One of the drivers, Mrs. Connie, will take you beyond the three stops.
One time my roommate and I wanted to go shopping at Rue 21. Before we got to any of the
stops, she asked us specifically where we were going. It was convenient; she dropped us right in
front of the store. This service is so helpful for times when I need to go to the grocery store or get
office materials for when the university bookstore is closed. Compared to the county’s city bus,
the Lee Transit, which costs $1.25 each way, the Florida Gulf Coast University shuttle is at no
charge. The shuttle is paid for by the student’s tuition, so why not try it! Some people own cars,
but they can save gas money and the environment by using the shuttle. The bus provides a couple
of safety measures when they go to the Gulf Coast Town Center. Students who take the bus are
not alone and are off the busy streets at night.
Osgood 3
If you want to go to a sporting event on the weekends, take the South Village bus and
then connect to the North Lake Village bus. The drivers stop close to the sporting facilities on
campus. Also, the parking can become hectic around the arena. Taking the shuttle will ease your
worry about finding a parking space in the endless abyss of cars. The shuttle is also ecofriendly
because their transporting many people at one time.
Overall, the Florida Gulf Coast University shuttle is a great service to try. The bus can
transport people to campus and to the Gulf Coast Town Center. The shuttle serves its purpose: to
get students to and from places in an orderly fashion. People can’t argue with a free service!