Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The Starkville-Mississippi State University Area Rapid Transit—known as S.M.A.R.T.—is requiring that all passengers in the local community and on campus wear face coverings beginning Monday, July 6.

Ridership capacity will remain at 19 passengers plus the driver, and all buses will continue to be disinfected on a daily basis.

“SMART has continued to offer transportation services throughout the pandemic and ridership has continued to climb on our city routes,” said Executive Director of Transportation Jeremiah Dumas.

“This past week we carried over 800 riders. Given the continual and growing demand for transportation services and the continual threat of COVID-19, we think it is in the best interest of our riders and our drivers to require everyone utilizing our services to wear a mask and, within our capacity guidelines, practice social distancing while on our vehicles,” Dumas said.

For information on SMART service times and routes, please visit www.smart.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.