Ohio State’s CABS On-Demand service offers students the ability to get free rides across campus between 10 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Credit: Becca Duncan | Lantern Reporter
While there may not be overnight bus routes running on campus, students can get home with door-to-door bus service.
Ohio State’s CABS On-Demand service, introduced in August, offers students free rides between all campus buildings from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., Jana Griffin, a CABS On-Demand driver, said. This service runs in place of overnight bus routes and makes sure students get where they need to go safely.
CABS On-Demand also provides transportation from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. between areas west of Olentangy River and three campus bus stops: the RPAC, Baker Systems and Watts Hall, according to the transportation and traffic management website.
“We’re a great resource that I want students to know about because we make sure they get home safe,” Griffin said. “At night I’ll make sure that they get in their dorm.”
Griffin said the service is available to all students, faculty and staff but not to anyone outside the university. Buses can fit 16-20 people and additional buses are on standby for busier times, as the service seeks to meet all demand.
Griffin said the process is as simple as asking for a ride on Tripshot — a transportation app — and waiting for a CABS On-Demand driver to arrive.
Abhijeet Killol, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, said he heard about the service through his friends.
Killol said the service provides a suitable means of transportation with his long work hours.
“I work really late,” Killol said. “This is the most convenient way for me to get home after the buses are no longer running.”
Killol said the app is easy to use and is a useful tool, especially for people who live on West Campus and must travel further distances at night than the average student.
Sunny Saini, a first-year in electrical engineering, said while he has used CABS On-Demand, most students do not seem to be aware of the service.
“I tell all my friends about it now, and they’re just like, ‘What are you talking about?’ ” Saini said. “They’re in utter disbelief that a bus can take you from one building directly to another building late at night.”
Saini said he thinks if more students were aware of and used the service, it could help keep them safe when going home late at night.
“I think a lot of students perceive OSU to not be encouraging student safety, and this is something that I think could really benefit students,” Saini said. “The other measures that have been implemented can only go so far.”
Saini said he would recommend this service to everyone at Ohio State and hopes more people use it in the future.
“You’re picked up by a bus and it takes you directly to your door,” Saini said. “There’s literally nothing better.”
