Even though Student Government changed bus routes this semester in an attempt to better accommodate students, riders want more.
Online forums like Tiger Droppings and Twitter have been buzzing with complaints about wait time and overcrowding on the Tiger Trails buses.
“Sometimes it’s a long wait,” said Sarah Sandifer, nutrition sophomore. “Especially if you get there and one bus has already passed and it makes you late for class to wait for a second inconvenient.”
The buses were re-routed this fall to send two buses down the Greek Row route. However, Greek students still see room for improvement.
Mary Allison Johnson, business sophomore and member of the Chi Omega sorority, said the buses are too crowded.
“The problem really isn’t always with waiting,” Johnson said. “But they are really crowded once you get on and you miss your bus because there are too many people on it budget.”
Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, said budget concerns are the main reasons additional buses cannot be provided.
More buses would require more student fees. Offices and organizations can only ask for an increase in student fees every four years. Next spring would be the earliest time fees could increase.
“More buses are possible if students are willing to pay,” he said.
Graham said it currently costs around $90 an hour to run a bus down the Ben-Hur route, which has warranted the most complaints.
If a second bus was extended down the route, it would cost an additional $4,500 a week, he said.
The added cost would be about $160,000 for a 36-week school year.
 
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Contact Laura Furr at [email protected].