Whether for late-night Walmart runs or trips to the rec center, WSU students rely on Pullman transit to get around campus and town.

Replacing the familiar A, E, I and J routes this year are the Coffee, Blue, and Silver routes.

Transit Manager Wayne Thompson said they rearranged routes to make the most of the buses and accommodate student needs. He said prior to the changes some areas were not heavily used.

“We dropped weekday service at Hopkins Court during the day,” Thompson said, “and also the loop on Grimes (Way) which was not heavily used. Otherwise, it’s the same service as provided before.”

Pullman Transit dispatcher Karmel Stone said the budget-related changes were made to address the high demand for certain destinations. For example, many WSU students depend on Pullman Transit to travel to Walmart, a mile from campus, which the Silver and Blue routes now service.

The majority of Pullman Transit users consist of students living off-campus and faculty members that are affiliated with WSU.

Stops from the now-eliminated J Route were incorporated into three of the four remaining routes.

“It fills in that 45-minute service time we committed to previously,” Thompson said. “It has less time at the transfer station. They were 45 minutes in name, now they are fairly full 45-minute routes.”

Thompson said it seemed appropriate to rename the routes in light of the changes, rather than adding revised to their names.

A summary of the changes:

The J route was eliminated, with nearly all of its stops incorporated into other routes. Grimes Way and Terre View Drive at Highway 270 were eliminated due to low ridership.

The A route was renamed the Coffee route. It previously ran 45-minute loops from 6:30 – 9:30 a.m. Now, it runs 20-minute loops from 7:15 to 10:15 a.m., alongside the I route, which it overlaps with to provide twice the coverage to the center of campus previously provided by the E and J routes.

The E route was changed to the Blue route, and runs in the reverse direction with the addition of Terre View Drive and Brandi Way.

The I route, now the Silver Route, was also reversed in direction to allow two buses to service Maiden Lane and Campus Street in the morning, two locations with high ridership numbers. Additionally, the route now goes directly from Whispering Hills and Golden Hills to campus.

The Loop Route’s trip was lengthened from 35 minutes to 45. Pioneer Hill and a portion of the J route were incorporated into the new Loop Route, which also provides two-way service on Grand Avenue from Main Street to Crestview Street. It now aligns with the other routes, meeting at the transfer station every 45 minutes instead of twice a day.