To all students of the University, the time has come to expose the truth.
And no, this has nothing to do with budget cuts — for once.
The truth: We pay tuition fees each semester toward mass public transportation.
Don’t understand what I’m saying?
Ever notice the mother and three children getting on the Tigerland bus at Alvin Dark Avenue only to get off at campus to wait for another bus conveniently driving up Highland Road?
Ever notice a person carrying numerous grocery bags walk onto the bus only to get off a few streets later?
Whether you have seen them or not, these are the people who are taking advantage of the convenience you pay for each semester: Tiger Trails.
The problem seems to be widespread across many of the Tiger Trails routes.
Michael Langteau, petroleum engineering sophomore, said he has seen many non-students frequent the Highland-Burbank buses. He commented on one particular ride-moocher.
“About every day there’s this same lady with groceries who gets on at Walmart and gets dropped off by some apartments on Highland [Road],” Langteau said.
Other students also claimed to see obvious non-students taking advantage of student-funded transportation.
“One time some woman got on with three kids,” said Rachel Zavecz, English and psychology junior and Tigerland route rider.
Whitney Gomez, dental hygiene sophomore, also claimed to have similar problems when riding Tigerland buses.
“There’s at least three or four people [who don’t attend LSU] every time I ride the bus,” Gomez said. “Sometimes there are people who bring little kids.”
While these examples may seem nothing more than a mere annoyance, they can pose problems.
One problem is time. It takes time for the bus to stop and pick up people and time to drop them off. People bumming rides can only exacerbate the tedious process of the buses constantly stopping and going. When these people bum rides during school hours, they could make students late for class.
Another problem is space. A woman with multiple children or a man with groceries takes up enough space for a few students. If you’ve ever taken the bus around 10:30 a.m. or 4:30 p.m., you know how crowded the bus can get. There’s no room for people who have no business being there.
Technically, the people who take advantage of Tiger Trails are not doing anything wrong.
According to an e-mail from the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, the University must allow public access to Tiger Trails in accordance with an agreement with Capital Area Transit System to allow University students to continue riding CATS buses for free.
But the fact of the matter is we shouldn’t have to pay for people to get around the city.
We pay tuition to get educated and the extra fees to get the extra stuff that comes along with the University, like Tiger Trails. We don’t pay them so the guy without a car can get around.
The Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation needs to figure out some sort of way to fix this problem.
My solution? They could ask for IDs from people who clearly don’t look like students. That would keep paying students on the bus.
Or maybe just make people who can’t produce an ID pay for the ride.
When did the students become responsible for providing transportation to people they aren’t affiliated with in any way?
The answer: We aren’t responsible and never should be.
We’re only responsible for ourselves — not for the people who can’t get around Baton Rouge.
‘Tis the season to give — not the season to fund a social welfare program with money for education.
Have a merry Christmas.
Chris Grillot is a 19-year-old mass communication and English sophomore from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Cgrillot.
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Contact Chris Grillot at [email protected]