Transportation & Parking Services (TPS) at the University of Georgia is always thinking of students’ travel needs, wherever they may be going. Two programs — Operation Safe Drive and the Airport Shuttle Initiative — are helping more students than ever get home safely for the holidays.
Operation Safe Drive
For the past 16 years, TPS has provided free vehicle inspections to UGA community members on the Thursday before Thanksgiving break through Operation Safe Drive. As part of the event, BikeAthens also has provided free inspections of bicycles for the past six years.
Operation Safe Drive is held at the College Station Park & Ride lot, a location that provides ample space for the event. This year, more than 400 people, most of them students, participated in the event — a new record.
TPS aims to have students in and out within 20-25 minutes. When students arrive, they’re greeted by staff and given a checklist of items TPS will be inspecting on their vehicle. As students move
through the line in their vehicles, staff members check things like brake lights, blinkers, and windshield wipers.
Then mechanics spend 3-5 minutes with the students, conducting further inspections of their vehicles and educating them about any issues they see. If the mechanics find something that can’t be addressed on site, or if students have specific concerns that are beyond the scope of Operation Safe Drive, the mechanics provide advice on what the problem might be and how the student should resolve it.
By the end, students have a checklist that shows what has been inspected on their vehicle, what actions have been taken, and what remains to be addressed by a local mechanic.
For bicycles, BikeAthens inspects brakes, oils chains, pumps up tires, and performs other maintenance and inspections. They also show students how to fix their bikes and offer advice if they find something that needs to be addressed off site.
Education is always a big part of Operation Safe Drive for both bikes and motor vehicles.
Airport Shuttle Initiative
The Airport Shuttle Initiative began last fall, inspired by a request from the Student Government Association for TPS to provide shuttle service to out-of-state students between the UGA campus and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to travel home.
Auxiliary Services collaborated with student leaders to identify a solution involving third-party transportation vendors and secured funding for the program from UGA President Jere W. Morehead.
The initiative was piloted during the 2024 Thanksgiving break and, thanks to its success, was continued during winter break, garnering additional positive feedback from students. With continued interest, the Airport Shuttle Initiative returned for the fall 2025 Thanksgiving and winter breaks.
This year, Auxiliary Services is partnering exclusively with Groome Transportation to provide the shuttle service. Combining the vendor discount with the UGA subsidy, the Airport Shuttle Initiative saves students $20 roundtrip.
Student participation has increased this fall, with the number of shuttle reservations made through the program by Thanksgiving already matching the total number from last year’s Thanksgiving and winter breaks combined.
The initiative received the 2025 Outstanding Collaboration/Partnership Award from the National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS) South Region in May.
###
By Rebecca Vander Plaats