A $3 fee didn't deter 780 students from taking a student-organized shuttle to the Philadelphia International Airport before last week's vacation.
The Undergraduate Assembly organized the bus service, which ran to the airport on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before spring break.
The number of students who used the bus decreased from the about 1,800 who used a similar but free shuttle service before winter break.
But Business Services spokeswoman Rhea Lewis does not believe that the decrease in usage was related to the new fee, noting that the winter break service was offered over a longer period.
The fee was introduced because neither Penn Transit nor the UA was able to foot the bill indefinitely.
When it was offered free of charge before Thanksgiving break, the service attracted about 700 students over two days.
College freshman Sarah Cantin said that her bus experience before spring break was not soured by the fee.
The charge "didn't bother me at all," said Cantin, who took the bus to the airport to catch a flight home to Boston.
Not all students were able to take advantage of the shuttle, however.
Engineering freshman Elliot Woods planned to take the 4 p.m. bus on Friday. He arrived at the Upper Quadrangle Gate half an hour early, but was informed that the earliest bus he could possibly get on would be at 4:30 p.m. due to the number of people waiting.
Woods then ran to get a train to the airport and said he barely made his flight on time.
Woods was surprised by how crowded the Upper Quad Gate was with people waiting for the shuttle.
"It was an unbelievable line," he said.
Woods suggested that an online sign-up would minimize the risk of students missing their flights.
Students were able to pay the $3 to ride the bus service by charging their bursar account or using PennCash.
Penn Transit drivers are not permitted to collect cash, preventing students from paying by other methods.
"There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work in a short period of time," Lewis said.
The shuttle did not run from the airport to Penn after spring break, as it did after winter break, because a PennCard-swiping machine could not be set up at the airport.
On Thursday and Saturday, when the bus ran hourly, one bus ran the route. On Friday, when the bus ran each half hour, two buses ran the route.
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