by Duncan Freeman ’22, Contributing Writer
The College maintains a vital relationship with the town of Clinton. On weekend nights, the Late Night Jitney often acts as the mobile representation of that connection. For those students over the age of 21, it is a necessary link to the downtown area of Clinton, turning a 20-minute walk into an approximately five-minute ride. Many students use the Late Night Jitney in order to go to bars or restaurants in Clinton on the weekend as this service is regarded by many to be the best and most cost-effective option for those who do not want to drive. Until recently, the Late Night Jitney has required Hamilton students to swipe their Hill Cards when riding down into Clinton. This was in order to collect the $1 fee for the Jitney as well as to verify that riders were Hamilton students over the legal drinking age. According to a new policy this year, however, students will have to swipe their cards on the way back to campus as well.
According to Noelle Niznik, the College’s Director of Student Activities, this policy change was made in an effort to better facilitate data collection on the Jitney’s use. She says: “We are tracking ridership for the service and in order to get consistent numbers we need to swipe/tap students going down and coming back up.” Initially, students were wary of this change, fearing that students under 21 would not be permitted to ride up to campus on the Late Night Jitney, or would be “caught” by the College as being underage and in the proximity of bars on weekend nights. In the past, all students were allowed to take the Late Night Jitney back to campus regardless of age. This policy was important to many underage students who could find it difficult getting back up the Hill when in Clinton late at night, and as such, the policy is unchanged. According to Niznik: “The students that are under 21 and riding back to campus are now part of the data that we will look at when we look at utilization as a whole.” In other words, this effort is not an attempt to catch underage students, but rather part of a larger data collection initiative.
Students worried that a swipe going up the Hill will cost them an additional dollar need not worry; not only will students continue to be able to ride up for free, but the $1 fare to ride from campus into town has also been eliminated. Niznik says this is because “[the fare] wasn’t helping offset the cost of the service. Additionally, we don’t charge students to ride back to campus so it wasn’t a consistent practice.”
Other students expressed concern over longer loading and travel times due to the increased amount of swipes. Excluding a minor incident on the first weekend of the semester, Niznik says these problems have so far been avoided. Thanks to the Hill Cards’ new “tap” feature, loading is quicker and easier. Also, student ride-alongs, who conduct Hill Card swiping, are allowed to collect student swipes while the Late Night Jitney is moving or even when students exit the bus at any of its stops. Upon learning the full details behind these changes to the Late Night Jitney, most students have expressed excitement about the new policy, noting indifference at the prospect of swiping an additional time going up the Hill and given the elimination of the $1 fee on the way down. It may not seem like a lot, but for college
students, every dollar counts.
