Some students who ride the “Drunk Bus” after a hard night of partying bring with them a distinct smell – a mixture of cigarettes, cheap liquor and beer.
The city bus known as the “Drunk Bus” is a safe way for students to get home during the early morning hours.
Three buses run the night route drive from Tigerland to campus, past the Greek houses and down Highland Road.
It then makes its way down Burbank, up Brightside Drive and finally down Alvin Dark Road and parks at the Tigerland Circle K.
Many students said they ride the bus to avoid driving intoxicated.
The risk of being convicted of a DWI is enough for many students to ride the bus.
During 2004 and 2005, the LSUPD arrested 91 people on DWI charges, and 45 of those were students.
“Its easier [to ride the bus] because you don’t have to go through the hassle of getting a [designated driver],” said Derek Modicot, mass communication freshman.
A bus arrives at the Tigerland Circle K about every 20 minutes from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.
“It’s easier to ride the bus instead of calling people late at night,” Modicot said.
Some students ride the bus regularly.
“We ride this bus every week,” said Jeffery Miner, business sophomore.
The buses are the same ones students ride during school hours, but in the late hours of Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, they turn into party-mobiles.
“Thursday is the biggest night,” said Ken Fort, night route bus driver. “It amazes me they can get up and go to class in the morning.”
Fort has been driving the night route for about two years and said the “Drunk Bus” nickname his route has earned sometimes fits.
“They use a lot of profanity,” Fort said. “I see them the next morning, and they’re back to ‘good morning, how are you?'”
Students have been riding the bus for years, but Fort said more students rode it in the past.
“I guess it became an inconvenience for them,” Fort said.
On average, 147 students rode the night route Thursdays and Fridays during the fall semester, and on Saturdays the average rider count was 266, said Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation.
Students who ride the bus do not have to show any kind of identification – they simply get on and tell the driver where they would like to get off.
“Anyone can ride the bus for free if they’re on campus,” Ford said. “Students, residents, whoever.”
To provide the service, the University contracts with the Capital Area Transportation System, and undergraduate students pay a “mass transit” fee of $35 dollars per semester.
Many of the bus drivers said they enjoy driving the night route and try to drop their riders off close to home.
“I enjoy it because many [of the students] are very friendly,” Ford said. “They often want to talk [to me].”
Night route driver Donna Armstrong said, “If the students are drunk, we try to go as close to where they are going.”
Some students said they wish the bus ran more than only Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
“We wish this bus ran six days a week,” Miner said.
 
Contact Elizabeth Miller at [email protected]