Every day, the Boston University Shuttle is packed to and over capacity with students attempting to escape the cold by opting out of walking from class to class, but students say the BUS is increasingly unreliable.
The BUS transports students east and westbound along Commonwealth Avenue, and completes its loop by going to the medical campus and then back to the Charles River campus.
Parking and Transportation Services Director Dwight Atherton said in an email that six buses run during peak hours and three run during off-peak hours Monday through Thursday. Five buses run during peak hours and two run during off-peak hours on Fridays, and two buses run during evening hours and on the weekends.
Additionally, break buses roll on and off the route to accommodate the drivers’ lunch and relief periods, Atherton said.
Amidst student concerns about BUS delays and the unpredictability of the service, College of Arts and Sciences sophomore David Killmon created an iPhone application to provide students who were out and about information about the BUS, such as where the nearest stop is relevant to where they were located and the time the next BUS is supposed to arrive.
The app was downloaded a total of 2,743 times, a staggering number considering it was only advertised by word-of-mouth, Killmon said. But after nine months, BU took the app off of iTunes, citing copyright concerns.
“They submitted a copyright claim and they mentioned to me that they weren’t comfortable with me using their icon,” he said. “When they told me that, I changed it to a Boston city logo, and it was fine since last April. In January, they grew testier, and made a copyright claim to Apple. They said the colors too closely resembled BU’s colors.”
The BUS has a Twitter account called “BUShuttle,” where students can check to see if the BUS is delayed or post complaints and suggestions. The Twitter was last updated in December 2009 with announcements about possible service delays due to a snowstorm.
Though BUS issues may irritate some students, others said they are grateful for the service.
“I would say it’s definitely a privilege, just because a bus is an expensive thing to maintain,” said Metropolitan College freshman Blake Torres. “You have to worry about repairs, diesel fuel and the mileage. I think we should be happy that our university has the money to pour into it.”
For others, the bus is their choice of transportation because it is the most practical and convenient option available.
“After the T, there’s no other way to get around,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Nicholas Sommer. “And, I mean, it’s free.”
CAS freshman Ann Liu said she agreed.
The campus is long, and I don’t want to walk it every day,” she said.
Many students, however, said they feel the BUS could be more reliable. Some complained there are not enough buses to go around, which causes overcrowding.
“One time it was so full, the people standing inside were pressed against each other, and that’s just uncomfortable,” said School of Management junior Raymond Santoso. “There were people still waiting outside too. They couldn’t even get on.”
Many said the bus could follow its schedule better.
“It’s never on time in the morning,” Liu said. “Sometimes at peak hours, it doesn’t come for a long time and I end up waiting 40 minutes to an hour. I think it should come more often, like every 10 minutes.”
Torres said he agreed with Liu.
“I can name numerous times when it’s shown up 20 minutes late,” he said.
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