Though the L train is back up and running as of Thursday afternoon, The New School announced on Tuesday a free chartered bus service in its latest effort to accommodate students affected by Hurricane Sandy. The service began on Wednesday with the hope of easing students’ transportation difficulties and helping commuters get to school.

The L train, which runs from 8th Avenue in Manhattan to Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn, is popular among students but was the last line to reopen after it suffered extensive damage from last week’s hurricane.

The program got off to a rocky start on Wednesday, when a winter storm brought several inches of snow to New York. John Giampiccolo, The New School’s director of purchases, was out in the snow attempting to keep things running smoothly on Wednesday evening, with the first bus expected to depart at 6:30 p.m. from the corner of 14th Street and Fifth Avenue.

“Everything went well this morning, but this weather sure isn’t helping,” Giampiccolo said when there was no sign of the bus at 7 p.m. and snow was falling heavier by the minute. A traffic accident in Lincoln Tunnel added to the bus’s difficulties, but Giampiccolo stayed in touch with the driver via telephone and kept roughly 30 awaiting students updated.

“Just what we needed,” Giampiccolo said, “a storm and a traffic jam.”

Despite the difficult weather conditions and delays, the students standing in line said they were pleased with the bus service. Parsons student Haillie Hadar took the free bus from her home in Bushwick on Wednesday morning, and said that the experience was a pleasant one.

“This has definitely made my life a little bit easier,” Hadar said.

Parsons junior Adam Thalenfeld agreed that the morning ride went more smoothly.

“The bus was about 80% full,” Williamsburg resident Thalenfeld said, noting that the M train, which many former L train riders have used in the wake of the hurricane, has been overflowing with riders in the past week. “This is a lot easier,” he said.

Even in the wake of the L train’s reopening, Giampiccolo said that the buses will continue accommodating students for the rest of the week.