NCSU Transportation recently conducted a night service optimization study, and Student Body President, Bobby Mills, said he hopes the results will support his efforts to develop an on-demand transportation system.

Mills, a senior in political science, met with Transportation representatives to discuss the state of the Werewolf bus services and the possibility of an on-demand system that would be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, he said.

“It’s something students would benefit from,” he said, adding that it would be safer for those who drink as well as those who have to share the roads with them.

The service would be student-driven, using buses or large vans depending on the demand and the funding permitted if it is approved, he said.

There would be two vehicles that travel through numerous on-and-off-campus apartment complexes and go to downtown Raleigh.

The project is estimated to cost anywhere between $24,000 and $50,000, which Mills said would depend on the extent of the services provided.

Mills said he sent his final proposals to Transportation, and he is waiting for them to send cost numbers back.

Christine Klein, information and communication specialist for Transportation, said a taxi service with buses would not be feasible based on the cost and size of buses.

But according to Mills, prices for buses are about the same as a large van, and he would hope to reduce some of the Werewolf funding because it is used infrequently.

One aspect to improve, he said, was the cost-per-rider efficiency, in which travel at night could cost between $3 and $5 per student because so few people ride the Werewolf.

Klein said the Werewolf survey would be used to help tweak the night bus system, to provide more frequent service for the students that use it.

UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina University have similar on-demand transportation, with services called “Safe-Ride,” according to the Universities’ Web sites.