Students at Florida Polytechnic University now have a more convenient way to get to school, thanks to a partnership with local transit and two nearby cities.

Transportation officials admit the ride was a little bumpy at first with overcrowding, but a bigger bus was all they needed.

This week, school and city leaders unveiled the new Polytechnic Circuit Express bus.

Transportation officials say they originally had a much smaller bus dedicated to the school, but once school started, they noticed there were more students than the bus had room for. Officials said they quickly realized they needed a bigger bus.

“We received complaints," said Polk Transit Executive Director Tom Phillips. "I mean, folks don’t want to sit on the floor. So we heard that we hit capacity on a Thursday and Friday, and on Monday morning, a larger bus was on the route.”

School leaders say the new bus is exactly what their students need.

“It’s critical to the students," said Florida Poly President Dr. Randy Avent. "We have a good number of students who live off campus in apartment housing, and the bus is one of the primary ways to get kids on and off campus.”

The cities of Lakeland and Auburndale paid $35,000 for the bus. There is no extra charge for students are the larger bus.

The bus will run daily to Lakeland. Transportation officials say the bus will not run to Auburndale -- at least not yet. They predict bus services will be offered there in the future.