Justin Bukartek brought a bike up to school last semester because he hated the 20-minute walk from his parking spot in Lot 83 to his dorm in South Halls.

"[The new shuttle] is a great idea," Bukartek (sophomore-geography) said. "I will definitely use it, especially if it's snowing."

Other students who park in Lot 83 said they appreciate the new shuttle, which began its trial semester Saturday.

"It's so convenient," Shawn Garing (junior-secondary education) said. "I live in West [Halls] and it's a 25-minute walk, often in the cold."

Located north of Park Avenue, the shuttle from Lot 83 will run every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, though the times might be adjusted, Tom Gibson, associate vice president of auxiliary and business services, said.

He added that this semester will be used to gauge student interest.

The shuttle stops on the west end of Lot 83 and runs along Park Avenue to Allen Street with stops to service North and West Halls. The shuttle then circles around to Pollock and Shortlidge roads with stops in front of Pollock Library and the White Building. On its way back to Lot 83, there are stops in front of the Nittany Apartments and East Halls.

The original route was changed to service North and West Halls, Bruce Younkin, Penn State manager of fleet operations for transportation services, said.

Gibson said specific shuttle times and stops would be re-evaluated after the first few weeks of the project.

"I'm sure there will be some changes this semester, but this shuttle will be very helpful for people who have a long way to go," he added.

Undergraduate Student Government President Galen Foulke and Vice President Luke Adams announced their plans to introduce the shuttle last spring during their campaign.

"We are very excited," Foulke said. "It is not only a fantastic service, and a bit overdue, but it is a fine example of administration willing to make campus a little easier to get around."

He added that people were parking on campus and paying the parking ticket instead of having to walk back from Lot 83 in the dark.

"People complained to me all this time about it," Foulke said. "It just made sense."

Students agreed that the distance from campus and the lighting around the parking lot made the walk after dark unappealing.

"There is definitely a safety issue," Rachelle Gill (junior-nutrition) said. "It is not well-lit around the garden area. There used to be bathrooms [across the street] with people always hanging around."

Gibson said the initial success of the shuttle bodes well for future students who park in Lot 83.

"We just have to make sure that it is well-known," Foulke said.