Shuttle Bus Reform

Everyone that goes to Framingham State University has probably had the pleasure of taking the shuttle bus. Some have even paid the fee of $500 a year to keep their car “on campus” and therefore need to take the shuttle bus nearly every day. The reason I put “on campus” in quotes is because, as many of us know, it is anything but that. A walk to the Union lot is taxing in nice weather and almost impossible in the winter. This reason alone is enough to raise an argument about reform in the parking situation. This however is not the subject of my complaint. The main flaw in this system is the rotation of the shuttle buses. I’m not sure who to direct my formal complaint to, but I will be looking into it as soon as I post this angry blog about it.

The worst part of the commute to the Union lot and back is not the unheated glass boxes on campus and at Maple, it is the unbelievable wait that most students experience. The rotation of the shuttle bus is very functional in theory. The bus is supposed to come by about every twenty minutes, and go the Sheraton something like every two hours. If this were how the shuttle bus actually ran it would be perfect, and I would not be complaining. There is, however, a flaw in the system. Often students are left waiting up to a half hour for the bus to arrive. When it finally does arrive, there are too many people and not enough seats. This leaves some students standing, and on the smaller buses people left behind waiting for the next one. This inconvenience is hardly worth $500 a year.

I do have a theory as to why this is. There is one older driver that is mainly to blame. Most of you have probably seen him and even spoken to him. He is very nice when he’s alone and even listens to some good music sometimes. He is however the laziest driver on the staff. As my friend who is also a shuttle driver told me, there are not enough drivers to take his shifts. This means that his job is extremely secure, and he knows it. I have on three separate occasions seen him sitting in the shuttle bus at mobile smoking a cigarette. The same driver told me that he normally does this, and often ignores pages for a few minutes. He takes his time getting to his destination, and when the shuttle is full, he is rather rude to the passengers. I once saw him deny waiting for a girl who went to lock her car, and even started to drive while her friend still had one foot out of the door. Next time you are stuck at Union for a half hour waiting for a ride, pay attention to who is driving. Nine times out of ten it will be him.