CatawbaGO at Catawba College: What the Ridership Data Reveals

CatawbaGO, the on-demand shuttle program at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, reveals a critical insight about student transportation: ridership demand is not static between semesters. Since August 2025, CatawbaGO has completed 11,051 rides and carried 14,588 passengers across two full academic periods. What the semester-by-semester breakdown shows is that when students understand how a service works, trust it, and can plan around it, they use it significantly more. This pattern has major implications for how colleges should launch and evaluate new transit programs.

The data tells a clear story: CatawbaGO completed 4,251 rides in Fall 2025, then jumped to 6,396 rides in Spring 2026. Spring ridership substantially outpaced Fall. Student adoption was not linear. The second semester proved that a well-designed on-demand service gains momentum as word of mouth spreads, as the app becomes familiar, and as scheduling apps and campus life align. For any college considering a shuttle program, this pattern matters more than opening-day enthusiasm.

## Why On-Demand Beats Fixed-Route for Small Campuses

Fixed-route shuttles run the same path at fixed times, regardless of passenger demand. On-demand shuttle service works differently: students request a ride through an app, and the system dispatches the nearest available vehicle to pick them up and drop them off wherever they want within the service area. The operational difference is significant.

At small campuses like Catawba College, fixed-route systems often leave seats empty because the route does not go where students actually need to go, or the departure time does not match when they are ready to travel. An on-demand model follows the demand instead of forcing students to follow the schedule. CatawbaGO riders rate the service 4.95 out of 5, a score that reflects not just the vehicles or drivers but the convenience of being able to request a ride when and where they need it.

The shift from fixed to on-demand also changes how a campus operator thinks about fleet size. CatawbaGO runs two fully electric vehicles. A fixed-route system on the same campus might need more vehicles sitting idle between peak times. With demand-responsive service, a smaller fleet can serve more passengers per day because vehicles are moving toward actual need rather than a pre-planned schedule.

## The Growth Between Semesters Tells You Something About Adoption

The increase from Fall to Spring at Catawba College is not unusual; it is predictable. First-semester students are new to campus and do not yet know where shuttle service fits into their routines. They have not opened the app dozens of times. They do not yet trust the wait times or know which pickup spots are convenient. By Spring, they have. They have friends who use it. Resident assistants in dormitories have shared information about it. Campus life has developed patterns where the shuttle fits naturally.

This pattern parallels what happened at UNA Roar Ride in Florence, Alabama, where ridership doubled after a mid-year shift to on-demand service. The lesson is the same: how you structure the service matters more than the volume of initial awareness. A service that works intuitively gains adoption through the semester. A service that is hard to use or inflexible does not improve over time, no matter how many flyers you post.

For a small college, this means: do not judge a shuttle program on its first semester alone. If the structure is sound, passenger volume should grow. If it does not, the problem is usually the service model, not the campus.

## How Shared Rides Drive Efficiency

One reason CatawbaGO performs well is that the dispatch system naturally produces shared rides. Some passengers board from the same pickup location; some students use the service for return trips on the same day. The fleet is not running empty vehicles, and students are not booking solo rides out of necessity.

This is the difference between efficient service design and wasteful service design. A poorly designed shuttle system runs vehicles with most seats empty or forces students to book individual rides because the service is inconvenient or slow. CatawbaGO's dispatch system is efficient enough that shared rides are the natural outcome. Students trust the wait time, so they are willing to walk to a pickup spot and share the ride with others.

Efficiency like this directly affects the carbon footprint and operating cost of the program. Fewer trips per student carried means lower fuel costs, less wear on vehicles, and fewer emissions per passenger mile. Small campuses can achieve this with the right technology and fleet size.

## Campus Sustainability and Two Electric Vehicles

CatawbaGO runs two fully electric vehicles and produces no tailpipe emissions. For a college committed to carbon neutrality or with sustainability goals in its strategic plan, this matters. It also matters operationally: electric vehicles have lower fuel costs and simpler maintenance than gas engines.

The choice of vehicle size and type for a small campus is different from a large one. Catawba College is not FSU Safe Ride in Tallahassee, which operates a large-campus safe-ride service with different operational needs. Catawba's two vehicles are right-sized for demand. A fleet that is too large drives up costs and environmental impact. A fleet that is too small creates wait times that erode adoption. The data from CatawbaGO suggests the sizing was correct: the service delivered high satisfaction ratings and growing adoption semester to semester.

## On-Demand vs Fixed-Route: How They Stack Up

Characteristic	On-Demand Service	Fixed-Route Service
How students book	Student requests ride via app; system dispatches nearest vehicle	Student waits for scheduled departure from a fixed stop on a fixed route
Pickup and dropoff locations	Flexible within service area; student chooses start and end points	Limited to stops along the predetermined route
Wait time predictability	Varies but typically short; depends on vehicle availability	Predictable; student must align their schedule to the bus schedule
Vehicle utilization	Vehicles move toward actual demand; fewer empty trips	Fixed path means vehicles may run with many empty seats
Adoption pattern	Grows over time as students learn and trust the service	Usage depends on how well the fixed route matches actual travel patterns
Right-sizing a fleet	Smaller fleet possible; lower overhead and environmental impact	May require larger fleet due to concentrated demand at fixed times

## Frequently Asked Questions

How did CatawbaGO grow from Fall to Spring? What changed?

Nothing changed about the service itself; what changed was student familiarity and confidence. By Spring, students had used the app, experienced reliable waits, and shared positive feedback with friends. Campus life also became more settled, with established patterns around when and where students needed transportation. Word of mouth and on-campus culture drive adoption of any new service.

Is growth between semesters typical for on-demand campus shuttle services?

Growth between semesters is common when a service is well-designed and convenient. The pattern depends on the campus, the service quality, and how intentionally the college promotes it. What matters is that the direction is growth, which signals the service is meeting real need rather than creating artificial demand.

Why does fleet size matter as much as demand? Can you not just add more vehicles later?

Right-sizing your fleet from the start affects everything: operating costs, environmental impact, vehicle utilization rates, and driver retention. A fleet that is too large wastes money and resources; a fleet that is too small creates wait times that undermine adoption. Starting with the right number and adjusting only if demand patterns shift dramatically is more cost-effective and sustainable.

## Looking Ahead

The CatawbaGO data from Catawba College demonstrates a principle that extends beyond any single campus: student transportation demand responds to service quality and convenience. When students can request a ride from their phone, receive it quickly, and go to and from the places they actually need to go, they use the service at higher rates each semester. For colleges still evaluating whether to launch a shuttle program, or how to structure one, the evidence from Catawba College suggests that on-demand service with a right-sized electric fleet outperforms fixed-route alternatives on adoption, efficiency, and sustainability. As more small campuses deploy similar programs, the pattern is likely to repeat.