PCC Students Will Have a New Transportation Option Come January

WINTERVILLE—Starting with the 2024 Spring Semester in January, Pitt Community College students will have a new option for getting to and from campus for their classes.

Thanks to an agreement between the college and Pitt County, the Pitt Area Transit System (PATS) will be transporting students from their homes to PCC facilities. To be eligible, students must be at least 16 years old and live within Pitt County but outside of Greenville city limits. Students from Greenville already have the option of riding the GREAT Bus, which makes stops on PCC’s main campus.

 “Student surveys have consistently shown transportation to be one of the biggest obstacles our students face when they decide to pursue higher education,” said Brian Jones, PCC assistant vice president of Enrollment Services. “PCC administrators worked with the City of Greenville years ago to establish the GREAT Bus option for Greenville residents, and now we have an agreement with the county that makes PATS a transportation option for Pitt County residents who live outside of Greenville.”

Jones says PATS will pick students up from their homes and take them to PCC’s main campus in Winterville or its Greenville Center on Memorial Drive. It will also take them back home from both locations, he said, adding that pickup times will vary based on the PATS schedule and where students live.

“There is no cost to students,” Jones said. “If they are interested in signing up for PATS transportation, they can reach out to me and I will help them get everything set up.”

According to the Pitt County website, PATS is a public transportation system that provides Pitt County citizens living outside of Greenville city limits safe, reliable, cost-effective transportation to access necessary medical care and other essential resources that improve and enhance their quality of life. Each year, its fleet of 20 vehicles makes 40,000 trips to provide nearly 400,000 miles of service.

To contact Jones regarding PATS service, students can email him at [email protected]. Spring classes at PCC begin Jan. 5.