Free transportation to nearby businesses for BBC students

By Douglass Gavilan/Staff Writer

Two cities will be providing students at the Biscayne Bay campus free transportation to nearby businesses.

The city of North Miami Beach has expanded their trolley system to include two new routes that will transport riders around the area. One of these includes a stop in front of the Hubert Library.

“I think that having a free trolley is a great thing,” said Akeem Arthur, a student studying to get his master’s degree in chemistry. “Well, I have a car, but I know that my friends have no idea about this service. Apps like Uber charge like $10 to get to the nearest Publix. Sometimes my friends end up walking all the way there and back.”

BBC falls into Route C. This line reaches Biscayne Commons as well as local shopping centers around Biscayne boulevard and 163rd St. such as Publix, Costco,Walmart, and The Mall at 163rd St.

The old-style trolley features multiple cameras for security, free Wi-FI, and an app that allows for route updates, according to the North Miami Beach website.

The trolley also allows for students to intersect with the other two routes. Both intersect at the Walmart location and the North Miami Beach Public Library. The two routes can reach the Intracoastal Mall and the shops at Skylake.

“The trolley sounds like a great thing for students at Bayview,” said Fiorella Jones, a senior majoring in digital media. “I never knew there was a way to get to Walmart for free.”

The city of North Miami also has a shuttle that stops at the HL. Known as “Nomi,” the route runs through the south side of Biscayne Boulevard. Besides taking students to Biscayne Commons, the shuttle stops at places such as Target, Walgreens and Navarro.

Students living on campus, however, are unaware of either service.

“I’ve never really heard of either,” said Arielle Brice, a senior majoring in public relations. “I just usually use Uber to take myself grocery shopping. If not that, then I just wait until a friend is able to take me.”  

Arthur also lives on campus and said he only received an email last semester regarding the service.

“Here at Bayview, our staff [is] aware of the service lines,” said Matthew Hilst, community director for Bayview. “If a student ever has a question about how to get to a store, we’ll tell them about the bus shuttle. We just don’t really advertise the service because [neither] city pays us to advertise it.”

The North Miami Beach trolley also features an app that can be downloaded for Androids and Apples. With the app, users can look up the nearest stop, the routes, and track estimated arrival times.

The red route on the North Miami shuttle runs through BBC every hour Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. For the North Miami Beach line, route C is available Monday to Saturday starting at 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

Students with any questions can always contact the FIU Department of Parking and Transportation at https://parking.fiu.edu/ or by calling 305-348-3615. Students can also visit the North Miami or North Miami Beach website for bus schedules and more information on the different routes and stops.

Image by Douglass Gavilan/PantherNOW

Be the first to comment on "Free transportation to nearby businesses for BBC students"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*