If you’ve ever attended WVU, then you most likely have gotten stuck on the PRT. Although it isn’t the best form of transportation on campus, it is pretty cool. The PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) allows students to go to one of five stations located on campus—just swipe your student ID and board. Downtown, there are stations at Walnut (near high street) as well as Beechurst (downtown campus). For the Evansdale campus, there are stations at Engineering (attached to the Crossing) and Towers (closest to the dorms and the Student Recreation Center). Last but not least, the PRT also has a station on the Health Sciences campus.
But, if your goal is to make it to class on time… check out the bus transportation.
I took the bus to class for a majority of my freshmen year since it was easy, convenient and efficient. Download the MLTA app to have full view of every bus route and the current location of the bus. The Blue and Gold bus as well as the Beechurst XP bus both take a loop around campus stopping at LSB and Towers. Sometimes the buses are packed full and you really have to shove yourself on there depending on how bad you want to make it to class. However, they run on a 20-minute schedule and rarely break down, making them a reliable source of transportation.
The university ultimately consists of three campuses: Evansdale, Health Sciences and Downtown. Evansdale is where mostly engineering, medical and arts students will have their classes. Also located on Evansdale is The Evansdale Crossing. The building has five floors; the first floor has a bunch of dining options that are all included on the meal plan. It also has a Barnes & Noble bookstore with a Starbucks inside. It’s a great place to get a snack and a cup of coffee while getting your work done! The second and third floors are used for classes, while the fourth floor has the Media Innovation Center for Reed College of Media classes and events. The fifth floor has healthier dining options: a fruit juice place and a panini place. This floor also has a deck that looks out over Evansdale (a gorgeous view for studying outside!) If you walk to the back of the floor, it connects to the engineering PRT station, as well as the upper part of Evansdale (the engineering building, Evansdale library and more).
Downtown is the heart of campus, consisting of everything from the Mountainlair Student Union to most of the freshmen dorms. The Mountainlair has lots of places to eat, send your mail, get a new ID and much more. Most general education courses are held in downtown halls. When you check out the downtown campus don’t forget to snap a pic of Woodburn Hall!
Health Sciences houses all health-related schools, including Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health. You can access the Ruby Memorial Hospital and WVU Medicine facilities from HSC. If you need to grab some food while over on this campus, head to The Market.
Need to go off-campus for any reason? Most of the clubs and bars are on High Street, past the downtown campus. Shopping? Head to University Town Center (the buses run here, too!) Need groceries? Kroger is a 5-minute walk from the Towers PRT station.
Good luck with your freshman year!