Next week, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) plans to run a shuttle service to Portland to help students access transportation home for Thanksgiving break.

On Friday, November 22, and the Saturday after, BSG will be running ten-person Bowdoin shuttle vans to the Portland Transportation Center and the Portland International Jetport as part of this pilot program. Additionally, there will be one 56-person bus traveling to Portland on Friday afternoon. After gathering feedback on break transportation from Bowdoin students, BSG organized the service to offer a free alternative to taxis and rideshare services so students can better access transportation services in Portland.

BSG initially passed funding for the bus on October 30 and additional funding for the bus as well as for the vans on November 6.

If the Thanksgiving shuttles are successful, the BSG hopes to have the College adopt and pay for this program in future years.

“The goal is for the BSG to be a startup and create these ideas and have the school take them over.… Other schools do this. It’s not far-fetched to assume that Bowdoin could also pick this up,” BSG Vice President Elliott Ewell ’27 said.

Since announcing the program, BSG has been doing various forms of outreach to raise students’ awareness of the shuttle. In addition to posting information about departure times on their Instagram and hanging posters around campus with QR codes to claim a spot, BSG sent an email to the student body on Thursday with a link to sign up on CampusGroups. BSG also connected with the THRIVE office early in the process to begin sign-ups for those who might have an increased need for the service.

BSG incorporated the feedback from its recent survey into the planning process, including data about how many people planned on using the service, what shuttle departure times were most convenient and why it was important for students to have access to affordable transportation for the break.

According to BSG president Eisa Rafat ’25, Bowdoin shuttle drivers’ dedication to students was one of the major inspirations for the initiative. A central component of BSG’s mission this year is to recognize these dedicated contributions of Bowdoin shuttle drivers.

“It was really important to have the shuttle drivers involved in this, especially because we knew that they have been supporting students for the last couple years,” Rafat said. “There are countless stories of [shuttle driver] Mama J coming to save the day, whether somebody’s stranded at an airport or somewhere else. She’s one call away, and she’ll really drop everything to come pick you up.”