A bus route will connect Dinkytown to the West Bank from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17 as a trial to gauge student use.
University President Mark Yudof approved the three-week trial for the 10th Avenue Bridge Circulator after the Minnesota Student Association voted unanimously Tuesday to fund the $7,000 project.
“This was a perennial issue for MSA,” said Matt Clark, a finance junior and MSA vice president. “We just went ahead and ran with it.”
MSA planned to conduct a two-week trial, but Yudof suggested adding another week to better gauge student need, Clark said.
“We’re very impressed with the students’ enthusiasm,” said Jane Canney, associate vice president for student development and athletics. Canney has helped the students secure funding for the project.
If the bus averages six passengers per trip, Clark said the student association will try to find ways to generate more funds.
“It’s up to the people to patronize it,” said Roger Huss, assistant director of Parking and Transportation Services.
As part of a Carlson School of Management project, Clark and other students found that Dinkytown and Marcy-Holmes neighborhood students average one to five walks across the bridge per week.
Clark said his administration’s marketing skills contributed to the successful bid for the bus route; an MSA proposal in 1996 did not succeed.
The circulator will run from 7:30 to 10:15 a.m. and from 3:30 to 6:15 p.m. Monday through Friday. The route, running every 15 minutes, will make four stops each way between Dinkytown and the West Bank.

Raiza Beltran welcomes comments at [email protected]. She can also be reached at (612) 627-4070 x3221.