Shuttles are not available to transport students to and from the THesis Hotel, where 140 UM students are currently living as part of “overflow” housing.
THesis is located across the street from UM’s Coral Gables campus along U.S. 1, housing students as part of a deal UM made in January of 2022 designed to accommodate “overflow” students who applied for on-campus housing but were not placed.
Unlike in years past, there is currently no direct shuttle route that stops at the THesis Hotel.
“Shuttle service has not been provided directly to THesis and there are no current plans to do so,” said the University of Miami in a statement to the Hurricane.
Instead, students “are encouraged to walk to the UM shuttle stop at the metro rail station using the elevated pedestrian overpass bridge to cross U.S. 1 safely,” the University said. “The Hurry Canes shuttle will take students to Stanford Circle.”
According to a UM student who was placed in THesis in spring of 2024, the school used a transportation service to shuttle students to and from THesis, with each trip taking about 15 to 30 minutes.
“If the timing was poor, walking would sometimes be faster than waiting for the next shuttle,” the student said.
According to a statement from the University, there were pilot programs in 2022 and 2024 that offered shuttle service to THesis.
However, “it was determined the need was not there to support continuing the service,” said the University.
In place of the transportation service, students can use Freebee this year to get to THesis. FreeBee is a free car service similar to Uber, but it is only available from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m., and routes must start or end on campus, according to the Parking and Transportation website.
Since THesis is not technically part of campus, students living there would not be able to take a Freebee from the hotel to campus — although they could use the service to commute from campus to their residence.
The Hurry Canes shuttle service, which transports students around the Gables and Rosenstiel campuses, was introduced around 2001-2002 and currently has four routes: Miller Circle, Rosenstiel, Rosenstiel-Vizcaya and Stanford Circle — a combined total of 15 stops.