In addition to the new galleries joining the First Friday festivities, comes a service to help people enjoy the receptions on that opening night each month: the First Friday Art Shuttle.

This shuttle bus, borrowed from Southeast Missouri State University and organized by the ARound Town group of galleries, runs from the River Campu, through downtown to catch people filing out of places like the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri or the Bilderbach Art Plaza and takes them to Garden Gallery and Aartful Rose.

I took advantage of the bus in February, as I do any month it's offered. I love this service. If you get a bus crowded with art-loving funbodies, it expands the gallery experience.

On that cold February Friday, I caught the bus with my two companions and we brought the total to three passengers -- the first of the night, according to the driver. Two lost Southeast students boarded at the River Campus and after a 10-minute explanation of what the shuttle was doing, what First Friday was and when they would be picked up by a normal shuttle and taken to the main campus, the girls decided to take a seat and take in some culture. Bravo, girls. This is what First Friday is all about.

After a few conversations, I learned a little about the shuttle's vacancy. Much of it has to do with ignorance. People don't know where they can board. They can't or didn't see the small "Arts Shuttle" sign in the window. They were inside the gallery and missed boarding when the shuttle stopped. As I mentioned, I love this service. So I want to offer a few suggestions.

* Put a sign at every gallery where the bus will stop. This prevents people from staying at only one gallery because they know the bus stops there, but don't realize they could sneak a peek at another gallery and still catch the shuttle.

* Make the sign bigger. Add color. It's a community of artists. Why is the sign so bland?

* Man the door. Most galleries have greeters or multiple people there representing the place. Station one of them at the door as a lookout to warn people to wrap it up and get outside.

Maybe these will already be in effect today and the bus will see increased ridership. Or maybe having read this column, you'll be on the lookout for a Southeast shuttle rolling down Main or Spanish streets and know to hop on it.