Despite the recent renovations to downtown Muncie, many Ball State students remain hesitant to venture beyond campus and the Village for night-life activities. Whether it is due to lack of allure or no means of transportation, Chris Ellison was amazed by the idea of a student body so detached from its college town when he first opened his downtown bar, the Silo, in March of 2010.
"I was shocked to hear that third and fourth year students weren't familiar with downtown Muncie," Ellison said. "I came from a very lively college town, so it was surprising to me that there were students who had never even been off campus before. I had to ask, ‘Really? Do you live in this town?'"
Determined to get students involved in Muncie's night life scene in a safe and efficient way, this past May Ellison and the Silo staff were proud to introduce the Silo bus as a free way for students to travel from the Village to downtown Muncie on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Having only run for four months, Ellison is overwhelmed by the positive response and success of this endeavor. Transporting 15 riders per route, the bus averaged 600 riders per weekend this summer and had its busiest weekend with 920 riders.
"Students really took advantage of the bus over the summer. It was phenomenal," Ellison said. "Not only were we getting students off the road and away from drinking and driving, but also introducing students to downtown Muncie and bringing more business into the community."
With the start of the bus, the Silo began attracting more business than ever before, often leaving the bar over capacity. Although he was hesitant to do so, Ellison decided to enforce a cover charge.
"There were nights when the bar was completely packed and people had to line up on the streets, which is a pretty big deal for us," Ellison said. "We thought the cover charge might deter people, but so far is hasn't at all."
Since the beginning of this semester, there has been a decline in riders, which Ellison said may be due to a change in pick up/drop off location. Originally running from directly outside the Locker Room to the Silo every 15 minutes, the bus can now be found parked in the gravel lot across the street from the Locker Room.
Senior photojournalism major and Silo bartender Ashley Kane said the bus is not only a safe means of transportation, but also creates a lively environment.
"The bus has fun lighting and music which gives it the same kind of fun atmosphere you'll find once you get to the Silo," Kane said.
Ellison is now looking into adding a second bus to the route with the opening of his new bar in the Village called Cleo's. He hopes students will venture from Village staples such as Dill Street Bar and the Locker Room every once in awhile to check out what downtown has to offer.
"Just because the Silo runs this bus doesn't mean it can only benefit us," Ellison said. "Places like The Heorot, which was voted one of America's 100 best beer bars, need to be discovered by students. We hope to promote sales and introduce people to not only the Silo, but to all of downtown Muncie."
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