Passengers wait in line to board a Megabus in New York, Thursday, March 17, 2011. The past year has been one of exhilarating expansion, and deadly setbacks, for the fleets of discount buses plying the highways of the northeast U.S. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
After starting in January 2014, transit service Megabus announced Thursday that all routes from Oxford will be discontinued starting Dec. 16 due to lack of profits and customer demand.
Sean Hughes, associate director of corporate affairs at Coach USA North America, said they have not seen the necessary customer demand they would like in Mississippi.
Hughes said they will certainly come back and take a look at the route, but as of right now, not enough people are utilizing the transit service.
“Counting 20 people tops, you know that’s not filling a bus that holds 81 people,” Hughes said. “The demand is not there.”
Hughes said the process behind reevaluating routes is solely based on if the amount of people using the system is sufficient enough to fund the travels. He said that if they heard enough from customers, they would come back.
Director of Parking and Transportation Mike Harris said in a press release the the university is always looking for ways to enhance transportation options.
“Some will be successful while others may prove not to be,” Harris said. “The key is to continue to work together as a community to provide as many options as possible.”
Madison Portie, junior managerial finance major, said even though students have used this service she feels that this will not strongly impact the students.
“Very few took advantage of the service, and obviously not very frequently, or it wouldn’t be closing,” Portie said. “It is, however, highly unfortunate to lose one of the few transportation options available to students.”
Hughes said that if this is something students and faculty are concerned with, it is important for them to understand there has to be more participation in order for the transit system to continue running.
“We need to see the students and faculty saying, ‘Hey listen, give us the opportunity for your service,’” Hughes said.
Have you taken the Megabus from Oxford? Visit theDMonline.com to vote in our poll.
