Wichita State University has contracted with Overland Charters to provide students, faculty, staff and visitors with an alternative to parking on the main campus.

Overland Charters will provide a shuttle bus service from Hughes Metropolitan Complex, 29th Street North and Oliver, to the Wichita State main campus from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday, starting today (Monday, Aug. 12). Fall classes begin Monday, Aug. 19.

Riders will be able to use the service for free, and no identification will be required to ride the shuttle.

Four shuttle buses will make 30-minute round trips from the west side of the parking lot at Hughes Metropolitan Complex to the main campus. The buses will make stops at five campus locations:

• Mike Oatman Drive on the east side of Eck Stadium near Marcus Welcome Center
• On the east side of Grace Wilkie Hall
• Perimeter Road near Elliott Hall
• Perimeter Road near Wiedemann Hall
• Perimeter Road on the west side of Hubbard Hall

Buses will only run on weekdays when classes are in session. No buses will run on weekends, holidays, when the university is closed for inclement weather, or during summer classes.

In the coming weeks, shelters will be placed at the Metropolitan Complex and the regular campus stops for passengers to use while waiting. The shuttle buses are expected to stop at each of the pick-up locations every seven to 10 minutes. The last bus will return to the Metropolitan Complex at 10:30 p.m.

Overland Charters and Wichita State will consider adding a stop by Koch Arena for evening athletic events. The possibility of running extra buses for other special occasions, such as commencement, also will be considered.

To help offset the loss of parking spaces because of construction projects, an additional parking lot was added this summer along 21st Street east of Corbin Education Center. However, the new parking lot won’t completely replace the loss of spaces from the closed lots.

Overland Charters has been in business for more than 16 years. Drivers go through extensive testing on driving and personal skills.

Each bus has a capacity for 37 passengers with wheelchair ramps on all coaches. The buses have a middle entry for fast loading and unloading and perimeter seating.

In the first year of the three-year contract, Wichita State will pay more than $400,000 for the service.

For updates on campus traffic and parking, go to www.wichita.edu/parking.