It’s Saturday night and you’re out on the town with friends. You’re having a great time until the bars close and you realize you missed the last bus home. Do you take an overpriced cab or brave a long walk in the dark? (If you’re female, the latter probably isn’t even an option.) 

It’s a common story in university towns all over the world, and the historic city of Pavia, Italy, is no exception. A large, lively student population coupled with the needs of nightshift workers means demand for nighttime services exists. Unfortunately, however, this demand tends to fluctuate, making fixed-route-and-schedule services difficult to plan and expensive to run.