Beginning this fall, residents of the Towers Residence Halls will enjoy unlimited free rides on Cy-Ride from the Towers to campus, and back.

Towers residents will be able to use a free pass on Cy-Ride’s Brown Route for the 1995-96 school year. The service will be available on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Department of Residence developed the program in response to suggestions from staff and students, said Doug Gruenewald, complex manager at the towers.

Students will be able to board and exit the Brown Route at the Towers and on campus stops.

Gruenewald said he is looking forward to the program this fall. “We are hoping it will be used extensively,” he said. A free shuttle has been talked about for several years, he added.

In exchange for the free shuttle, the Department of Residence will pay Cy-Ride $35,000, Gruenewald said.

Towers officials are planning an awareness program for the free rides as well. Included are posters to be distributed around campus and lighting of Towers windows to read, “FREE BUS,” Gruenewald said.

Returning Towers residents will be notified of the shuttle.

Cy-Ride and ISU already provide free transit on most Orange Route stops. The Orange Route runs to the College of Veterinary Medicine and circles central campus.

This free shuttle is part of a recurring movement to provide free rides throughout Ames to all ISU students, said Bob Bourne, Cy-Ride Director. Previous attempts have been unsuccessful.

Iowa State partially subsidizes Cy-Ride fares for ISU students. Bourne said roughly $250,000 is provided to Cy-Ride by university administration and $750,000 by GSB student fees.