It’s your right to know…

Lately, the easiest way to get to class is to walk. Parking spots are few and far between and the shuttles offer no help. Trying to get a shuttle is as difficult as trying to get a cab on a busy city street. Georgia College & State University has tried to provide an alternative way for students to get to class, but it has not proven to be efficient.
The best time to ride the shuttle is when it is rainy or cold. Somehow it ends up that you are waiting out in the rain and cold longer than it would take for you to walk to where you need to be. Not only will you find yourself waiting in the weather, but the shuttle routes are not planned out to provide the quickest way of getting where you need to go. The shuttle takes you all around campus, even when it is in the opposite direction of your destination. This is great if you want a tour of GC&SU, but if your class is in five minutes, the scenic route is not at all appreciated.
Depending on what shuttle you get on, you may or may not be asked where you want to go. Most of the time you just get on and tell the driver where you want to go and they will take you there. This is not always a bad thing, if you happen to be the only one on the bus. However, if you are in a hurry and need to get to main campus and another person needs to go to Parkhurst, depending on who got on first, you may be out of luck. If the driver does not ask you where you want to go then all you can really do is sit and wait for your stop.
The system should be more consistent so students can depend on this form of transportation, because for some, there is no other choice. Students in Bobcat Village are so far away, and for others, the shuttle is the only way for them to get to main campus. We all pay for a reliable system, but this is not what we receive.
It’s not always the bus driver’s fault, though. I know it is hard for students to be on time for a shuttle that is almost never there, but if students try to be at the stop when the shuttle is supposed to arrive, the transportation system will be able to plan to help us better. This will make it much easier for the routes to stay on time in the future when there are actual shuttle routes made.
New shuttle routes are in the process of being developed. These new routes should prove to be more efficient by being shorter and on time. This way the students can get from one place to another without having to depend on their own means of transportation.
We have a great resource, if it could only be used correctly. The shuttles are clean and comfortable, and I’m sure if they were more reliable they would be a delight for everyone to ride.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 13 2004. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry