CART Shuttles Provide Convenience for Sooner Fans

Selena Belvin, Safety and Security Officer and 
Route Supervisor for CART, stands by a bus 
parked at the garage area.
PHOTO: Chelsey Kraft

            During OU home football game days, traffic and limited parking locations around Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium may make parking difficult. Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART), which provides public transportation for the city of Norman and the University of Oklahoma, offers a solution to this dilemma.  

            Selena Belvin, Safety and Security Officer and Route Supervisor for CART, says for two dollars round-trip, fans can park in the Lloyd Noble Center parking lot and ride the CART shuttle to campus. A five dollar round-trip service is available for people who wish to park at the Westheimer Airport. A total of 16 buses operate on game days, and about 7000 people utilize the CART service when the Sooners play in Norman.

             The shuttles begin running three hours before kickoff during most home games. This Saturday will be an exception when the Sooners host the Iowa State Cyclones for homecoming. CART will run buses four hours before kickoff, which is set at 6 p.m., so that people can attend the homecoming parade. After the game is finished, the buses will run for up to an hour or until the lines no longer exist. CART does not run regularly scheduled bus routes during home football games due to traffic congestion and the general access closure of the South Oval, which serves as the transit hub for CART.

Belvin, who began working for CART as a route driver seven years ago, says the football shuttle has run since before she began working at the company. Now, as a route supervisor, she has a different role on game days than she originally did.

“My role on game days is to coordinate. What I do is that I make sure the drivers are where they need to be when they need to be there to be more efficient with transporting our passengers. I also answer any questions for our customers. I am actually out on scene during the whole time, except for when I go to my office to do some paperwork,” Belvin says.

After this Saturday’s game, CART will also operate for the final two home games of the season on Oct. 30 and Nov. 13.

Selena Belvin explains the process by which fans can ride the CART shuttles on OU home football game days.