Contact: Leah Barbour
Photo by: Russ Houston
The Starkville-Mississippi State University Area Rapid Transit system already attracts approximately 5,000 riders each day, and riders are increasing daily, according to city, state and university officials.
Stakeholders gathered Monday [March 31] to celebrate the S.M.A.R.T. shuttle system at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Palmeiro Center at MSU's Starkville campus. MSU President Mark E. Keenum, Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman and Northern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert emphasized S.M.A.R.T.'s potential to improve quality of life.
"We are proud to offer such a reliable service to meet needs of those coming onto this campus and for residents throughout the Starkville community; it will reduce traffic, congestion and emissions," Keenum said.
Keenum highlighted the importance of partnerships among the university, the city of Starkville and the Mississippi Department of Transportation in developing the S.M.A.R.T. system.
In 2012, MDOT awarded the grant enabling MSU and Starkville to expand the campus transit system to include campus-community routes. The service began in January 2014.
S.M.A.R.T. offers its free shuttle services Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two routes operate on Saturday. Each bus features graphics integrating campus, city and MDOT images to make them easily recognizable in the community.
Route information is available at http://www.smart.msstate.edu, and to find out when the next bus will arrive at a given stop, call 662-325-5204 any time during service hours.