MSU Parking and Transit services is getting ready for game day

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s that time of year again in Starkville.

Football season.

with the first home game kicking off Saturday the university is getting ready.

Mississippi State is gearing up for the 2019 Football home opener, and that means an increase in campus traffic.

To keep things rolling smoothly, MSU’s Parking and Transit services is getting the S.M.A.R.T. Bus fleet in ship shape.

“Made sure that all the buses that we’ve got are functioning properly making sure they are cleaned up, and making also sure that their air conditioners are working that’s a big deal on game day in 95° heat. We also have two cooling buses that are positioned near the stadium in case people need to get away and get into a cool environment,” said transit service manager Larry Graves.

Transit Coordinator Troy Halbert said it doesn’t just happen overnight; it takes months of planning.

“We start in July getting ready for the first football game and after we get the first football game ready everything else is real simple,” said Halbert.

On game day, the buses connect Starkville with campus potentially moving thousands of fans.

“The stadium holds 61,000 or 62,000 we don’t see every one of those but a number of people come to the game and actually don’t go inside the game the bus holds 40 people. We move them constantly,” said Graves.

Keeping it all revved up are the drivers.

“I make sure that my drivers are properly hydrated we provide drinks for them and a game-day meal in the middle of it so that we are talking to them early in the morning making sure that everybody’s prepped because this isn’t the first time we’ve done this,” said Graves.

Graves said they stay busy all day, but when the game ends, the lines get longer.

“A stadium that takes five hours to load dumps out in just 30 minutes, so the lines get a little bit long, but if people will be patient, that ride is well worth it,” said Graves.

The buses start running Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and continue until two hours after the game finishes.