ShuttleGirl’s Identity Revealed

Ever since ShuttleGirl.com changed its logo last month, a pair of legs scantily clad in a shuttle schedule miniskirt has greeted visitors looking for the next three shuttles going their way.

Early Saturday morning, the pair of legs got an upper body and a name—Emily V.W. Galvin ’04.

When site creators Anthony Delvecchio ’01 and Jason R.P. Karamchandani ’02 replaced the pink silhouette of teen pop icon Britney Spears with this new image, they swore the new ShuttleGirl was a Harvard student and pledged to reveal her identity at the end of the year.

“It was the end of the year and we had to worry about our exams,” Karamchandani said, explaining why they had no choice but to release ShuttleGirl’s name. “The death threats were interfering with my concentration.”

One desperate ShuttleGirl user recently cornered Karamchandani when he was doing laundry.

“Who’s ShuttleGirl? Give me a year, a House, something,” the man demanded.

But there is much more to know about ShuttleGirl than the fact that she resides in Thayer Hall.

Galvin was born in Iowa City, Iowa, spent her early years living in Italy, but considers her real home Laramie, Wyo., where she was much more likely to be found riding a horse than taking a bus.

“I’m really bad at navigating public transportation,” she said. “When I got here I didn’t know what to do.”

That has not stopped Galvin from helping thousands of shuttle users, who are grateful for her assistance.

“I’ve gotten a lot of e-mails from guys saying, ‘Hey, that was really gutsy,’” Galvin said. “I don’t see gutsy. I see self-promoting.”

Galvin’s main activity at Harvard has been theater, but she has never done any modeling. She said she hates getting her picture taken.

Her mother, Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory Jorie Graham, was initially confused by Galvin’s involvement with the website.

“She wrote me this long e-mail about how she hopes I’m not planning on doing this with my life,” Galvin said.

Once Galvin explained that this would not turn into a career, Graham was much more supportive.

Her grandmother had other concerns.

“The legs are really good, but the shoes will have to go,” she wrote her granddaughter. “Can anything be done?”

But Galvin does not really want anything to be done—she said she has been having a good time with the project.

Delvecchio and Karamchandani are equally pleased with their choice for the legs of ShuttleGirl.

“She played the part well and has a great sense of humor about the whole thing,” Delvecchio said.

The future for ShuttleGirl is bright.

Harvard Transportation Services is in talks with Delvecchio and Karamchandani to purchase ShuttleGirl, a move that would prevent it from suffering the fate of its predecessor, Shuttleboy, which died when its creator graduated.

“Over the summer, we would build them a mirror site, minus the girl. Tear,” Delvecchio said.

Although there is some concern that the Harvard website will not feature the ShuttleGirl logo, Delvecchio and Karamchandani said loyal users would still be able to use ShuttleGirl.com as long as Karamchandani is at Harvard.

Both the original and mirror sites would benefit from Harvard resources.

“ShuttleGirl kind of took off ridiculously, so there’s no way we can support it,” Delvecchio said. “It’s become too time consuming.”

Delvecchio, who was scheduled to start working for McKinsey in Houston this September, has pushed back his start date to November so he can focus on the ShuttleGirl project.

What began as just a silhouette has become a vast network of shuttle schedule information.

In addition to the website, ShuttleGirl is available for Palm Pilots and in wireless form.

By dialing 4-TELL, users can get shuttle information over the phone with the assistance of the voice of ShuttleGirl, Colleen M. Gargan `02.

If users have to wait by a Centrex until the next shuttle comes, they can explore some of the voice portal’s other features by saying, “When Harry Met Sally,” “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling,” “I Love You” and a few other choice phrases.

Their technology is so appealing that the MBTA has already adopted it for bus schedules. Delvecchio and Karamchandani said Philadelphia, Takoma, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Calgary and St. Louis have shown interest in the ShuttleGirl Project.

Delvecchio and Karamchandani have also been in contact with Yale students who hope to start up a Yale.ShuttleGirl.com site next year.

“It has sort of turned into a business,” Delvecchio said.

—Staff writer Victoria C. Hallett can be reached at hallett@fas.harvard.edu.