Though the new Wolfline buses have a “kneeling” capability to aid handicapped riders, the Transportation Department has received complaints that bus drivers haven’t been as handicap accessible as they should be.

According to Assistant Director of Transportation Slade McCalip, all of the regular-sized buses have the capability of lowering to curb level. He said the buses have ramps that “flip out and are level with the ground.”

The shorter buses, “like the Wolflink shuttles– do not have the lowering capability but have special stairs that make getting on the bus easier for handicapped riders,” he said.

Many students like Katelin Smith, a freshman in agricultural education, have not seen the new bus feature in action.

“I didn’t even know they had that capability,” Smith said. “I was wondering how [handicapped students] were supposed to get on [the buses].”

Other riders are aware of the feature and have complained when the bus hasn’t been lowered to help a handicapped individual get on and off.

“We have received complaintsâ one complaint in particularâ that the buses haven’t lowered for handicapped riders at bus stops,” McCalip said “That’s due to crappy training on our part.”

He said the Wolfline drivers are contracted from First Transit, a transportation contracting company.

According to McCalip, while First Transit was supposed to train all drivers and make sure they are knowledgeable about the lowering system, some were not. McCalip said he has let First Transit know about the complaints.

“We’ve let the general manager know that this problem is unacceptable,” he said.

McCalip said transportation officials and bus drivers had been concentrating on catering to individuals in wheelchairs.

“We weren’t sensitive to those on crutches or using canes,” McCalip said. “We have to fix that. That was wrong.”

Another problem the Transportation Department has dealt with this semester is the shortage of buses for the number of riders. McCalip said while the University cannot afford more buses, bus drivers must stop for handicapped individuals waiting as bus stopsâ even if the bus is full.

“The first four seats in all buses are for handicapped riders,” he said. “Someone’s got to get up from those seats if a handicapped rider needs to get on, that’s the policy.”

At the Sept. 11 Transportation meeting, McCalip said officials stressed the importance of stopping for handicapped riders waiting as bus stops.

“In the future, we are requiring all drivers to stop if they see a handicapped student waiting at a bus stop, even if the bus is completely full,” he said.

McCalip said he recalls seeing a girl on crutches waiting at a bus stop on the first day of school. A full bus passed without stopping to let her on.

“I made the next bus stop and pick her up — I don’t care if it was full,” he said. “Someone had to get off to let her on.”

This solution has prompted some concerns from students and Wolfline riders. Some feel handicapped students should wait just like everyone else if the buses are full.

“That’s a good idea [to offer the privilege to handicapped students], but then again, we have to wait, too,” Smith said. “And so that pushes the lines of whether they are giving special privileges to certain people. I understand handicapped people have problems [riding the buses], but people who aren’t handicapped have to wait as well.”

Will Lamb, a freshman in computer engineering, shared similar views with Smith. He said the Transportation Department should focus on a bigger problem, the number of buses, rather than the bus policy.

“If someone’s already on the bus, then that’s their place,” Lamb said. “You can’t just take away their place because of the handicapped person. If there’s space, there’s space. It seems to be more of a problem with the amount of buses and not necessarily about the bus policy.”

Both Smith and Lamb said they would be a little upset if they were asked to leave the bus to allow a handicapped rider on.

“It would hurt my feelings having to wait,” Smith said. “I’m not a person who would get terribly offended by things like that, but it would kind of bother me in a sense.”

Lamb agreed.

“I’d be mad because then I’d have to walk,” he said.

McCalip said the Transportation Department wants to make sure these problems are being fixed. He has asked for any individuals experiencing problems on the Wolfline buses, other than overcrowding, to contact Transportation with their concerns.

He said bus drivers are now required by their contracts to stop and pick up any handicapped individual waiting at a bus stop, no matter what. Any complaints reporting deviation from the contracts will result in fines for First Transit, according to McCalip.