DSG sponsors vans for Thursday night parties

The Thursday-night regulars to George's Gourmet Garage and the Cosmic Cantina will now have a Duke Student Government-sponsored shuttle to transport them there-possibly eliminating some of the safety issues that have recently become a problem in that area.

DSG has organized shuttles for at least the next three Thursday evenings to pick up students on West, Central, East and North Campuses and drop them off on Ninth Street near the two facilities.

The service will begin tomorrow evening. It will initially consist of one van-with a maximum capacity of 20 students-that will run the entire route every half hour between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m..

If the demand warrants more vans, David Majestic, director of the transportation department, said transportation services are relatively flexible; he does not anticipate that DSG would have a problem accessing additional shuttles if necessary.

Trinity senior Atabak Mokari, DSG director of special projects, said student demand and safety concerns provided the two biggest motivations for DSG to take the initiative to organize the service.

The rash of armed robberies around East Campus in the past month-and-a-half coupled with the large crowds that flock to George's Garage and the Cantina on Thursday nights, he continued, impelled DSG to get the ball rolling with the shuttle service.

DSG will pick up the tab for the van service, which Majestic estimated will cost about $210 each night. He said that DSG is simply redistributing money it will not use for the shuttle service to Chapel Hill-such as the money that would have funded last Friday night's service, which was canceled because of Midnight Madness.

The turnaround time for securing the service was less than one week-which, Majestic said, presented few problems. Mokari approached him last Friday with the idea for the van service.