Dear Students,
Getting around a new city can be a daunting task—frequently incoming students opt to pay for an Uber instead of braving the bus system. The Wesleyan Sustainability Office has introduced WesPass to make travel affordable and easy. WesPass allows students to ride the Xtramile shuttle service and Middletown Area Transit (MAT) buses for free. Just show the driver your WesID when boarding and you’ll be good to go.
XtraMile Shuttle
The new FREE XtraMile on-demand shuttle service works to get you around Middletown on your schedule. Just log into the app and click where you want to go. The shuttle will pick you up where you are, take you to your destination, and bring you back to campus. It’s that easy! Xtramile currently has 17 stops within central Middletown, including: Big Lots/Chipotle, Price Chopper, CVS/Aldi, Goodwill, and several places on/around campus and on Main Street, including the bookstore. A current map of stops is available at estuarytransit.org/xtramile. XtraMile runs Monday through Wednesday 12 – 8 PM, and Thursday through Saturday 12 – 10 PM. Download the TransLoc app in the Apple or Google Play stores to get started. Don’t have a smartphone? Call the dispatch center at 860-346-0212. This pilot program will run through the fall semester.
Middletown Area Transit (MAT) and 9-Town Transit Buses
Want to get out of the XtraMile service area? You’ll notice MAT buses passing through campus several times a day. Wesleyan is serviced by routes 583, 584, and 590; and the downtown terminal just three blocks away is serviced by all of the MAT and 9-Town Transit routes. Popular destinations on these routes include Stop & Shop, Walmart, the Meriden Mall, Hammonasset State Park, and more. The MAT bus can also take Wesleyan students to the Meriden Train Station, where you can connect to New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, Bradley Airport, and beyond.
To locate the bus stops on Wesleyan campus, you can view the campus map on Wesleyan’s website or this poster of nearby destinations. To view the MAT schedules, go to middletownareatransit.org and click on “bus schedules” or scroll down (below the map) and enter your starting and end destinations and the website will generate the best route for you.
Even with all of the information, if you’ve never used public transportation before, braving the bus for the first time can be scary. The Sustainability Office has created this helpful video that walks you through the process of riding the bus. WesPass allows you to navigate Middletown and beyond at no charge. This is a brilliant opportunity to both save money and to travel sustainably; we highly recommend taking advantage of it. Please direct any questions to sustainability@wesleyan.edu.
Sincerely,
Jen Kleindienst (Sustainability Director)
Scott Rohde (Director of Public Safety)