Southeast Missouri State University student publication

W.I.N.G.S. route gets shuttle tracking service

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Southeast Missouri State University’s weekend shuttle route is now able to be tracked at the Transit Nexus and will soon appear on the Southeast app.

W.I.N.G.S. is an acronym for “When In Need, Go Shuttle.” The route transports students to off-campus destinations such as West Park Mall, Wal-Mart and Cape West 14 Cine.

Work on the tracker began when Student Government, W.I.N.G.S. sponsor, wanted the route to have a tracking service similar to the daily shuttle service on the main campus and River Campus.

“Student Government expressed interest in a very similar platform,” senior systems analyst Joshua Waller said.

The tracking service was developed by the Information Technology department and plans to develop the tracker have been going on for two years. The service became available on March 31.

Certain issues such as traffic and requested stops had to be accounted for, as they affect the estimated time of arrival for each stop on the route.

“W.I.N.G.S.’ route is incredibly long and it’s very difficult to know its schedule because of its length,” Interim Director of the Department of Public Safety Beth Glaus said.

For students like freshman Afra Bhuyian, the tracking service couldn't come soon enough. When she needs to go off campus, the shuttle is sometimes nowhere to be found.

“It was never clear when the shuttle was going to arrive,” she said. “Sometimes I would ask the RA, but they wouldn’t know. A lot of the time we’ve missed it.”

Sophomore Anthony Gutierrez drives the W.I.N.G.S. route on Sundays and he believes the tracking service would be helpful for students.

“I’ve heard specifically from passengers that they’ll be using it more now that there’s a tracker,” he said.

The W.I.N.G.S. route is expected to appear on the Shuttle Track section of the Southeast app on April 21.

To view the W.I.N.G.S. route during its hours of operation, visit http://wds.semo.edu/nexus/.

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