GUTS to Begin Rosslyn Safeway Route Saturday

Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle buses will run to and from Safeway in Rosslyn, Va., on Saturdays starting this weekend.

Students voiced their concern about the need for a bus route to a supermarket in a survey conducted by GUSA this past July. In the survey, 93 percent of respondents agreed that students have a need for this new bus route. “After getting the results of the survey, we tried to cater to the needs of the students,” GUSA President Calen Angert (MSB ’11) said.

The Safeway that was previously accessible on the Wisconsin Avenue GUTS bus line closed in April for a nine-month renovation.

“We try to do everything that we can. There is no Metro stop at this campus and GUTS buses help alleviate that,” Angert said. “We are just looking for improvements in the system, and adding a Safeway [to the route] is within our prerogative.”

Angert worked with the Office of Student Financial Services and the Office of Transportation Management at Georgetown to get the new route approved.

The new Saturday Rosslyn bus route will have stops at the Rosslyn Metro station and at Safeway, and will run five times throughout the day between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. The schedule can be found on the Office of Transportation Management’s Web site. The bus will leave from the parking lot west of Southwest Quad.

The route will run until Dec. 12, at which time the university will decide whether or not to make the route permanent.

“Ideally, once the Safeway reopens on Wisconsin [Avenue] and is up and running, this will be unnecessary,” Angert said.

Safeway is currently offering shipping for orders totaling $50 or more free of charge to Georgetown residents while the Wisconsin Avenue branch remains closed, but some students say they would rather go to a store and see the products that they are purchasing.

Chris Sukhu (COL ’10) is among the students who live off campus and do not have a university meal plan. Having walked to the Rosslyn Safeway before, he said he would prefer using the bus stop over the Internet for certain purchases.

“For some things I would [go],” Sukhu said. “I guess I prefer to pick my own vegetables and fruit.”

Other students said they would prefer taking the bus to the Rosslyn Safeway for purchases that do not qualify for the $50 minimum for free shipping.

“It’s cheaper [than Vital Vittles],” Stelios Foyrakis (COL ’13) said. “I would definitely go.”

Mike Lavoie (COL ’13) said he would also use the bus for convenience to buy food in the coming months.

Correction: This article originally stated that the Saturday Rosslyn GUTS bus will depart from the bus stop outside Kennedy Hall. The shuttle will depart from Lot 3, located west of Southwest Quad near McDonough Gymnasium.