The days of finding a sober weekend driver to get from downtown Muncie to the Village just got easier. MITS, with the help of Muncie businesses, is offering an experimental east of campus loop that also extends to the downtown Muncie area.
The Late Loop will run on weekends between April and March to gauge whether it should be made permanent. Students who always wanted to drink in the Village and downtown Muncie in the same night now have an easy and safe way to do so.
But high ridership and increased downtown business is the only way to ensure the loop becomes a permanent reality. If students don't utilize the loop, the experiment will fail and students will be left walking or driving drunk.
Running the loop isn't free, and downtown businesses are covering the entire cost of the experimental loop - presumably because it should bring more student business into the area. If supporting businesses don't receive benefits from the loop, however, it will never make it beyond the experimental stage.
Business is vital to the loop, but perhaps more importantly, the loop should reduce drinking and driving both on campus and downtown. This doesn't mean students should solely use the Late Loop as a free ride home from the Village, however. Downtown businesses made this loop a reality, and they can just as quickly stop funding the loop if their business does not increase.
The Late Loop might remind students of another east of campus loop MITS used to offer: the Blue Loop. This route also started out as an experiment, and it ended successfully for students.
Students used the Blue Loop heavily, and the same needs to happen if the Late Loop is going to continue. Despite higher-than-expected ridership, it was still an uphill battle in convincing Ball State to foot the bill. The same battle will be fought to persuade downtown businesses to fund a permanent Late Loop.
Students should take a valuable lesson from the past: continuation of transportation routes only comes with high ridership. This time around, however, the stakes are higher because downtown businesses stand to lose money if students don't make the investment worthwhile on the weekends.
The Late Loop presents a valuable benefit for students, but only if sponsoring businesses benefit as well.
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