DART has expanded its weekday service at SMU to include Saturday. (Courtesy of DallasMetropolis )
The Mustang Express is expanding its services just in time for the new school year.
For the first time, students and employees will be able to ride the Mustang Express on more than just the weekdays.
As of Aug. 25, the Mustang Express operates every Saturday while classes are in session during the fall and spring semesters.
The route runs from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with service stops every 20 minutes.
This will be in addition to the regular, weekday schedule, which runs Monday through Friday from 7:10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Mark Rhodes, SMU director of parking and ID card services, said the decision to have the Mustang Express run on Saturdays came in response to a request by student leadership, the student body president and student riders looking for additional services.
“We have a large number of professional programs that are Saturdays only and our campus does not stop operating on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. With Saturday service we will be able to give our students and employees another option than driving their cars to campus,” Rhodes said.
Students can find the Mustang Express stop at the center of campus, on Bishop Boulevard, by the Cox School of Business.
“Potentially this will give greater access to campus for our students and give people another option to driving cars, making our campus a little greener,” Rhodes said.
The Mustang Express is an easy form of transportation for students and employees to go to and from campus, as well as to a number of nearby stores and restaurants. Mockingbird Station, Greenville Avenue and North Park Mall are all accessible by the bus.
The Mustang Express also helps connect students to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Red and Blue rail lines located over Northwest Highway at Mockingbird Station.
The lines are an important form of transportation for students and employees without cars needing to get to and from campus or wanting to explore the city.
Several years ago, there was no DART bus service from Mockingbird Station on the weekends. Many weekend staff members could get to Mockingbird Station but would have to walk to campus from there.
“This was another reason to add Saturday service, because that population was underserved once they got to Mockingbird station,” Rhodes said.
“This decision will benefit a good portion of people who work and live on campus and rely on the Mustang Express.”
Many students believe this will be a positive addition to the Mustang Express schedule and will give them a chance to explore the surrounding areas.
“It will give students, especially the new freshman who don’t have cars, an easy way to check out their new city and get off campus for a while,” senior Mattie Eiland said.
“Students should take advantage of what the Mustang Express has to offer.”
“If you haven’t ridden it before, I would suggest you hop on and see where it takes you,” Rhodes said.
Students can ride DART and the Mustang Express for free with an SMU transit pass.
Once students purchase a pass for $5, they are able to ride DART for free all year.
Annual renewals of the transit pass are free.
Students can order their DART transit passes online and then pick them up at the Park ‘N Pony office located in Suite 101 of the Expressway Tower Building.
