In the first three weeks of running a shuttle to the West Seventh Street entertainment district, the T attracted around 50 riders using the service each weekend, Joan Hunter, communications manager for The Fort Worth Transportation Authority, said.

The new route began in the middle of February and runs every hour Friday and Saturday nights from 6 p.m. to midnight. The shuttle begins at Worth Hills, drives to Frog Shuttle stops like the Brown-Lupton University Union and then goes directly to West Seventh Street.

Students can catch an early movie, eat dinner at The Movie Tavern, go shopping and leave by midnight, Hunter said.

“Any new service is going to start out small,” she said. “And I don’t think that’s changed.”

Hunter said it was important to make students aware that the T is there for their convenience and if they only have an hour to spend, they can try the T and come back. Hunter said she wanted to urge students to try the shuttle route because it would be important to receive feedback and see how they feel about it.

“If nobody uses it, then maybe people aren’t familiar with the fact that it’s available,” she said.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills said the university would like for the T to be a permanent fixture if enough students used it.

“We’ll make the decision based on whether or not there is sufficient ridership,” Mills said. “I know so far, they [the T] are pretty pleased.”

He said he had heard little feedback from students, but what he had received was positive.

However, Mills said he had concerns about the T shuttle being available after midnight.

“We don’t want this to be transportation where people can feel like they can get drunk and they’ll have a ride home,” he said. “We want this to be a place where people can go for evening entertainment.”

Mills said he would certainly want to hear and address any student concerns. He said the university is also looking to expand the service from just Fridays and Saturdays to Thursdays as well.

Dalton Goodier, a junior English and history double major, said he planned to use the T this weekend with his friends. He said he had heard many younger students living on campus, international students and students who do not have cars were excited about the T’s service.

Goodier is a member of the Student Government Association and helped write the bill to bring the T shuttle to TCU.

“If a lot of people use it, we can get more shuttles, more routes, and hopefully have it open for a later time,” he said.

Free West Seventh Street Shuttle

Every Friday and Saturday night

Runs 6 p.m. to midnight

Picks up at Worth Hills and Frog Shuttle stops.

West Seventh Street entertainment includes Movie Tavern, Montgomery Plaza and Super Target