Michigan Flyer manager Diane Moore said MSU students and faculty who commute back and forth to the University of Michigan campus were asking if the bus stopped there on its way to the airport.

“People would say, ‘We’ve seen your bus, does it make a stop in Ann Arbor?’ When we told them it didn’t, they would always ask if we knew of another service that did,” Moore said.

Rates for riders making the one hour and 25 minute trip from East Lansing to Ann Arbor will start at $15 per person, with an introductory special in effect through December – buy two one-way tickets, get one free.

English freshman Nick Van Huis has traveled to Ann Arbor once this year to see his sister Marly and friends from high school who attend U-M. Van Huis said the new bus could make future trips more convenient for him, especially since he doesn’t have a car on campus.

“The nice thing about that would be I wouldn’t have to bum a ride from friends and be on their schedule,” he said. “I could go when I want and come back when I want.”

Jay Bassman, a general business administration and pre-law freshman, has made one trip to his parents’ home in Ann Arbor since he moved into Bryan Hall in August.

While Bassman doesn’t plan to go home to his parents until Thanksgiving, he’ll visit his friends attending U-M throughout the semester.

“I’d be interested in this just because it would make it easier to visit my friends and family,” he said.

Michigan Flyer has carried more than 30,000 passengers from East Lansing to Detroit since opening in November.

Much of the company’s business is driven by freshmen, international and out-of-state students, Moore said. While space is usually available in the 48-passenger buses, some have sold out during Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks.

“When MSU moves, we fill up,” she said.

With the new route, Moore expects to see more students utilizing the bus service for recreational purposes along with travel purposes.

“This will give an opportunity to those students in East Lansing that have no form of transportation to hit festivals or sport events going on in Ann Arbor or vice versa,” she said.