Student Senate passed an allocation of approximately $7,000 Monday night to fund the Late Night Bus Service trial, which will serve students on Saturday nights in the next fall.
The bus will run from 6:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. during the 15 Saturdays in the next semester and would be free to students who wished to go to locations such as London Square and Oakwood Mall.

Newly elected Vice President Mark Morgan wanted to amend the bill by changing the 15-week trial to a four-week trial. But the amendment was widely rejected by the senate member, who opposed the amendment by a 2-23 vote.

“You cannot really know how it’s going to perform in four weeks,” said Student Senator Chrissy Duszynski, who introduced the bill.

Duszynski also said this won’t be another “Drunk Bus” and that the program will be a really good opportunity for freshmen students who usually don’t have a car to explore Eau Claire on a weekend night.

Student Senator Hannah Sutherland agreed with Duszynski and added that the program needs time to be promoted and advertized so students can take full advantage of it — the four weeks, she said, wouldn’t allow it.

April Ross, also a student senator, said students really need a bus system since the Eau Claire City bus stops its operation at 6 p.m. on Saturdays. But the program should be expanded in the future and run throughout the whole weekend, she said.

“The difference between this and a public transit system is that this bus will stop for students where they want to stop, instead of having designated stops,” she said.

The Late Night Bus Service trial, which passed with a unanimous vote, will start in the first week of the fall semester.