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 CHARLIE
BARNESNEWS NOTESCOMPRESSONIN MEMORIAMORIGINAL SEMINOLESARCHIVESUNDERWRITING |
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Bus rides home are cheap, fast and all-Seminole |
A new bus service called TMT Transport is shuttling FSU students to and from South Florida every weekend. Touted as a service that will keep students "Close to FSU and Close to Home" at a reasonable price, TMT charges $70 for a round-trip ticket to Miami. Students traveling to Gainesville pay $55 for a round trip. During the eight-and-a-half-hour drive to Miami, students can use the free time to relax, sleep, study or watch a movie on one of the bus' TVs with VCRs. The service is available to students, alumni, staff and their families, and there is a "tour guide" on each trip to assist passengers if they need it. Almost 25 percent of FSU's in-state students come from Palm Beach, Broward or Dade County. "We are excited about the service at FSU, and we are already planning on expanding the service to include other dates and times and reverse trips, so that families and friends can visit Tallahassee for the weekend," said TMT president Lilliam Paez. She said she expects the FSU service to be as popular as the Gainesville-Miami-Gainesville (GMG) service she began 18 years ago. Even with seven buses making the trips from UF, they still sell out each weekend. The TMT bus service leaves every Friday at 2 p.m. from Gate E of the University Center and arrives at the Mall of the Americas in Miami by 10:30 p.m. Students going only as far as Gainesville will be dropped off at the Paynes Prairie rest stop on I-75. Students traveling farther south will be able to get off at service plazas on Florida's Turnpike. The return bus to Tallahassee departs from Miami on Sundays at 2 p.m. and arrives in Tallahassee at 10:30 p.m., picking up students from the designated drop-off points along the way. "The service will run special schedules to adjust to students' needs during long weekends and holidays, like Labor Day weekend and Thanks-giving," Paez said. "Reverse trips leaving from Miami on Fridays for special events such as Parents' Weekend and home football games will begin immediately." Tickets for the bus are available from TMT Transport in the Oglesby Union every Wednesday during the flea market from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Reservations are also available online: www.tmttransport.com. It is recommended that students purchase or reserve bus tickets early in the week to ensure getting a seat on the bus. The bus service is also available for campus organizations to rent for special events. For reservations or more information about TMT Transport, call Jorge or Hilda Posada at (850) 561-8681. |
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Send a letter to the Editor: fstimes@unicomm.fsu.eduCopyright ©2002 Florida State Times |
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