Worcester, MA – The Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Inc. has launched a weekend shuttle bus service at five of its city campuses in an effort to connect students with desirable downtown locations for restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.
Operated by Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation, the Woo Bus began operating on Friday and Saturday nights at the end of August and links Assumption College, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Worcester State College with Shrewsbury Street, Main Street, Union Station, Park Avenue, and Lincoln Plaza. The Woo Bus runs two lines both evenings from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and is free for full-time, undergraduate students at participating colleges. Riders are required to show a valid college ID.
In addition to providing access to restaurants and entertainment venues, the Woo Bus will also enable students to visit cultural attractions such as Mechanics Hall, the DCU Center, and eventually the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts.
“Worcester offers great nightlife and great restaurants,” said Karen L. Manson, director of student affairs at the Consortium. “We encourage our students to venture off-campus and experience all of the great places within the city. If students have a positive experience in Worcester early on in their academic career then we have a great chance of retaining them after graduation.”
Not to be confused with the Woo Bus, the Consortium also coordinates a free day shuttle bus service operated by AA Transportation Company, Inc. which provides intercampus transportation among six Worcester campuses: Assumption, Becker, Clark, Holy Cross, WPI, Worcester State, and the downtown area. The service runs Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is designed to provide access to other campuses for cross-registration, library use, and athletic and social events.
The Woo Bus provides free evening shuttle service to students who may not have many transportation options for getting into the city. All five institutions who participate in the new Woo Bus initiative do not allow first-year resident students to have cars on campus.
“I am confident that the Woo Bus will change student life for the better at all of the
Consortium schools, especially here at Holy Cross where underclassmen have often had logistical difficulty accessing the city,” said Dave Lipke, a senior and co-chair of the student government association at the College of the Holy Cross.
“This service is bridging the gap and improving communication between the colleges and universities in Worcester,” said Michael Woodruff, a senior and student council president at Clark University. “The Woo Bus not only makes it easier to visit points of interest on the weekends, but it is helping Worcester identify itself as a college town.”