A bus service that drives students and residents to Indianapolis International Airport is eliminating its route between Muncie and Indy this week.
The Bloomington, Ind.-based Star of America shuttle that travels to and from the airport will run its last route from Muncie on Friday. The company will continue to provide service to Bloomington and Lafayette, Ind., locations.
General manager of Star of America Larry Shickles said the student ridership for the Muncie route is 40 percent.
"We see a substantial number of local riders, and it's a combination of retired citizens and business people," Shickles said.
Star of America does not receive funds provided by the government to keep the shuttle service running, and Shickles said running off of private funds is just not enough.
The shuttle makes two routine stops a day in Muncie at 8:10 a.m. and 4:10 p.m. at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. When the shuttle service began more than two years ago, it had five stops each day.
Shickles said the only way the bus could continue to run the Muncie route is if there was an increase in ridership, but said stopping the route for the summer could give Star of America time to figure out how to fund the route again.
"We want to communicate with students directly," Shickles said. "But we are limited in what we can [because] we are not allowed to hand out fliers on campus."
Roger Hollands, coordinator for Muncie-Anderson Transportation Coalition, said advertising is the main reason the shuttle is suffering.
"We are disappointed that this service has to end," Hollands said. "[Coalition] needs to advertise in the Muncie [and] Anderson community through print advertisements, billboards [and] radio, in addition to the Internet."
Hollands said the lack of advertising for Star of America has caused it to be an "invisible service" to the people in Muncie and Anderson.
The Muncie route is the longest route from downtown Indianapolis, Hollands said. Therefore, the more gas and miles it takes requires more funding, but with lack of knowledge about the shuttle service, the ridership has suffered severely.
"We believe there's a market for this," Hollands said. "We want this connection for Ball State, for students. For international students, it serves as a lifeline."
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