Authorities encourage students to report commuter bus complaints
“The squeaky wheel gets the oil,” but only if it squeaks to the right people. Students often complain about the commuter buses at LSU; however, they do not always take their complaints to authorities.
The most common complaints students have deal with the buses being late, failing to show up and passing students up, said Eric Reid, assistant director of LSU Parking, Traffic and Transportation. Several students also reported having the door shut on them, but said it was not a big deal.
“It’s very important that complaints get to us, because we can’t fix the problems if we don’t know about them,” said Reid.
Students can call transportation at 578-5006 to report incidents. Transportation will call the supervisor of Captain Transportation Corporation (CTC) to see what they can do, said Reid.
Transportation will not pass on names to CTC or LSU. They only are needed if CTC has questions and needs to get in contact with the person who complained, Reid said.
“The buses are pretty efficient,” said undecided sophomore Elizabeth Tran. “But there are extreme cases of bad things that have happened. We’re paying them, but sometimes it seems like they don’t want to pick us up. It depends on the personality of the bus driver.”
Tran says she misses one bus driver who used to greet students when they got on and off the bus.
“One time I waited outside CEBA for 30 minutes, and no bus came. Then I walked to the Union and waited 20 minutes. Finally, a bus came and the driver said he was on break. I called in and complained, but it didn’t help,” said Kristin Guidry, an elementary education sophomore.
Heather Lasseigne, mass communication sophomore, said an empty bus passed her up before class once at Brightside crossing. “Overall, it’s better than parking,” she said. “But I don’t understand the new rule against walking in front of the bus, which contradicts what I was taught when I was young.”
Despite the problems, students still use buses regularly, and most only have minor complaints.
“The bus is fine, but they should consolidate the stops,” said Herb Roussel, electrical engineering senior.
Also, many students depend on the buses and find the convenience outweighs the problems.
“ It’s better than having to walk from the parking lot,” said Chris Pagan, political science junior. “Sometimes you have to wait 15 minutes because two buses come back to back, but it’s not bad,” he said.
Melissa Prescott