Students can now enjoy an afternoon in Wellsville for a small fee by utilizing Wellsville’s ACCESS Allegany transit bus Houghton-to-Wellsville service.
The forty minute drive costs just 50 cents each way, and provides students with the opportunity to partake in an array of activities. Possible activities include eating a meal at one of the many restaurants in town, shopping at local stores, seeing a movie, or visiting the local library.
Houghton College is not affiliated with this new transit service nor does the college contribute any funds; the transit service was founded by and for the businesses in Wellsville. Consequently, the bus does not only stop at Houghton College at 5:20 p.m. on Thursday afternoons. In addition to this Thursday evening shuttle, the Service Area Four provides transportation from Houghton College at 3:38 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. going to Belmont, Monday through Friday. The bus also makes other stops throughout Houghton and Fillmore, including Subway and Dollar General. The Service Area 4 schedule can be found at ardentnetwork.org,
Marc Smithers, Assistant Dean of Residence Life and Programming, predicts the variety of restaurants will be most successful with Houghton students. He recommended The Duke House Tea Room and Bakery on 244 Main Street, which, serves pastries, cakes, cookies, and more than forty kinds of loose leaf tea. Among Smithers’ other recommendations were L’Italia, Beef Haus, and Texas Hot, which has “awesome milkshakes.”
Julia Chamberlain, ’18, who rode the transit to Wellsville the first Thursday it was offered, was also very complimentary of Texas Hot. “They cook the food right in front of the window,” she recalled. “And they’re so fast. We ordered, and three minutes later they brought the food out.” She and a friend explored some of the other restaurants and shops on main street, including the David A. Howe Library, which Chamberlain described as “a big, Greek museum.”
While she agreed Wellsville restaurants will play a key role in the success of the Wellsville transit, it is unfortunate some attractions, such as Bowl-m-Over Lanes and the Wellsville Creative Arts Center are not open by the time the Thursday evening shuttle arrives. “It’d be nice if they really laid out everything there was to do,” Chamberlain explained. “We were searching around a lot for what there was to do.” Another student agreed that the transit would benefit from more advertisement.
Smithers added the transit is perfect for those “looking to get off campus,” not only because the cost of gas will not be an issue, but because of the opportunity it presents for students to journey together, form closer friendships, make memories, or “go on dates with boo.”
In addition to having fun, off-campus options and boosting the business of Wellsville, the Ardent Solutions website cites several benefits of public transportation, such as its producing 1.1 million jobs annually. Additionally, economic returns yield $4 for every $1 invested in public transportation.
Not only does Houghton College have the chance to bolster the public transit economy, but Wellsville’s Chamber of Commerce is in conversation with Allegheny County about potential discounts for Houghton students to make the transit accessible and viable for Houghton students for years to come.
The Thursday evening shuttle leaves Houghton at 5:20 p.m. and returns at about 11:00 p.m.