Splurging on a $26.50 cab ride to catch a plane for Thanksgiving is now a thing of the past.
At least, that's the Undergraduate Assembly's plan.
On the heels of its successful shuttle bus program last year - pioneered by Wharton senior Brett Thalmann, now the UA chairman - the UA is rolling out a revamped program for the holiday breaks.
It is designed to make the shuttle bus runs from campus to the airport permanent and more streamlined.
The UA will also run two buses - there was only one last year - on the day before Thanksgiving break.
Last school year, the UA ran the buses from the Upper Quadrangle Gate to the Philadelphia International Airport. The buses were free last Thanksgiving and winter break, but a charge of $3 was added for the spring break shuttle run.
The UA has not yet decided if it will charge students for the service this year but plans to make its decision this week.
"Last year, [Penn] Transit absorbed some of the cost, and the UA took money out of contingency funds," said UA member and College sophomore Wilson Tong, who is spearheading this year's effort. "For this Thanksgiving, the UA will probably put the money up front . but we have to decide as a body what we are going to do."
"Based on feedback from the UA, [the bus] was a very welcome project," said Rhea Lewis, a spokeswoman for Business Services, which oversees Penn Transit.
Upwards of 1,800 students took the bus over winter break and 780 over spring break last year.
This year, the UA is planning on running buses for the two days preceding Thanksgiving break.
"All together we'll have about 24 runs," Tong said.
The tentative times for shuttle runs are Nov. 21 from noon to 8 p.m., every hour. Two buses will run the next day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every hour and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. every half-hour.
Tong said that even if the UA charges a fee, the service is vastly better than the alternatives.
"Some schools, like the University of Michigan, charge $6-10 for a ride from the campus to the airport," he said. "What we charge is comparable to [SEPTA] and cheaper than a taxi." A ride on the R1 Airport train costs $5.50 at peak times and $4.50 off-peak.
The UA hopes this will prevent the overflow that resulted last year, when too many students using the service and too few buses caused several students to miss their planes.
But even with an updated program, some Penn students still aren't biting.
"I took it to the airport last year," said Wharton and College senior Jason McAlees. "The problem I had was that it was very disorganized . and you had to wait when I can just take the rail at University City for $5.50 and arrive five minutes before the train leaves."
Correction: The article incorrectly said that the buses would be provided on Tuesday, Nov. 22 and Wednesday, Nov. 23. In fact, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break is the 21st, and the Wednesday is the 22nd.
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