Ames businesses and services welcome the arrival of thousands of college students after the lengthy days of summer.

Sheri Kyras, director of transportation for CyRide, said the bus service is excited to provide transportation for students again after a slow summer.

Kyras said the effects of the incoming fall students are immediate, beginning the first day of classes.

“We significantly increase,” Kyras said. “We carry about 22,000 riders a day and only 3,000 riders [per day] during the summer.”

CyRide has made changes in its schedule, including extending hours on the Brown Route. It will now run until 9 p.m., instead of 6 p.m. Services will also be extended during the midday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Southdale area, located south of Highway 30 and at South Duff.

For incoming new students, Kyras agrees CyRide can be confusing and recommends asking returning students for help.

“Another good source to use is our Web site, www.cyride.com,” Kyras said.

Eric Crawford, manager of Caf‚ Milo, 4800 Mortensen Road, has seen business increase since early August with the influx of more students living in apartments around the Mortensen Road and South Dakota Avenue area.

“There’s potentially 4,000 new students living around us,” Crawford said.

Caf‚ Milo opened two months before school ended and Crawford admitted business was a lot slower in the summer.

Kurt Karr, top banana of MonkeyThis.com, said business is already running well ahead of normal, after a 50 percent decrease in sales during the summer.

“We’ve seen an upswing in people buying back to school things,” Karr said.

MonkeyThis.com is an online service allowing people to order a variety of items including food or health and beauty items online and have it sent to their address.

Crawford said all of the products they provide are stored in a warehouse.

“We grab it off the shelves and go,” Crawford said. “We don’t go to a store.”

Changes that MonkeyThis.com has recently made include adding more inventory – such as frozen pizza and ice cream – to the list of foods, and a $10 worth roll of quarters that can be ordered for $10.

“Food is the most popular item we provide,” Karr said.

Karr is doing more publicity for MonkeyThis.com through television commercials and promotion through events such as Destination Iowa State.

Mike Adams, general manager of Welch Ave. Station, 207 Welch Ave., is looking forward to fall business after a steady summer.

“Mine doesn’t drop off drastically in the summer,” Adams said.

Adams said summer is nice because there is more time to do maintenance on the bar and take time off.

“Fall is fun because you get to see old friends and make new ones,” Adams said.

Adams keeps the inventory the same through the summer and fall, although he said more has to be replenished in the fall.

Shawne Ungs, marketing and public relations manager for the Ames Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1601 Golden Aspen Drive #110, said it is an exciting time for the hospitality industry as they transition from summer to fall with the arrival of students for the semester.

“With the first Iowa State football game less than two weeks away, there is a lot of exciting activity all over Ames as the hospitality industry prepares to welcome football fans and visitors to our city,” Ungs said.

Ungs pointed out that if students are in need of a job, now is a good time to look.

“Hotels and restaurants are switching gears for the season and they often may need new staff to replace summer positions,” Ungs said.