UGA Campus Transit

UGA Campus Transit began in September 1966 with four Army surplus buses. Until 1972, the system relied on a 5¢ fare collected via cigar boxes on the buses to fund operations, reflecting the nascent stage of campus mobility needs amid post-World War II enrollment growth. As UGA's student population nearly doubled from 11,879 in fall 1966 to 21,873 in fall 1970, driven by broader access to higher education and returning veterans, the transit system expanded to accommodate rising demand.[10] By the early 1970s, it had grown to multiple routes covering key campus areas, including north-south loops, east-west connectors, and services to married student housing along Milledge Avenue, with bus acquisitions ramping up—such as five General Motors coaches in 1970 alone—to support this development. Further integration with local transit occurred in 1978 when public transportation resumed in Athens after a hiatus, granting UGA students fare-free access to Athens Transit routes funded through university fees, which enhanced connections beyond campus boundaries. In the fall of 2025, the routes were once again changed to reflect changing mobility patterns on campus. == Routes ==

Weekday Routes Night and Weekend Service Intersession service Operates on days when the university is open but classes are not in session. Most weekday routes are run but with only one or two vehicles serving each one. == Fleet ==

UGA Campus Transit currently operates 11 diesel buses manufactured by Orion and 20 New Flyer diesel buses. The Orions are 2009 and 2011 models, and the New Flyers are 2014 to 2016 models. UGA Campus Transit has previously operated buses manufactured by North American Bus Industries (NABI) and Rapid Transit Series (RTS) buses made by General Motors. In April 2019, UGA entered into a contract to purchase up to 20 new Proterra electric buses. The 20 buses were put into service on campus in February 2020. In December 2019, as the University of Georgia was awarded $7.46 million under the Federal Transit Administration's Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program, it was announced that 13 additional electric buses would be added to the fleet, which will brought the total number of electric buses on campus to 33. The electric buses will accounted for a third of the total fleet in 2021, when UGA began to phasing out and decommissioning older diesel buses. In September 2023, the agency received a $7.2 million federal grant to purchase eight additional electric buses. After Proterra's bankruptcy in 2023, UGA Campus Transit was unable to obtain replacement parts and fix software issues with electric buses, forcing them to indefinitely decommission the Proterras that had issues and rely more heavily on their older diesel fleet. To compensate for the loss of electric buses, an emergency purchase of eight new International diesel buses was made in the spring of 2025. In addition to buses, UGA Campus Transit also has a small number of vans and microbuses for dispatch use and low demand service. ==References==