The recent string of crimes on campus has raised concerns about the efficiency of nighttime campus buses. The LSU buses run on two separate schedules, with up to 22 buses running until 5:30 p.m. and three buses servicing the two separate night routes. Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, said the buses at night should pick up students every 15 minutes. But for Marie Oh, English senior, the wait for a bus at night is much longer. “I had to wait for 30 minutes,” Oh said. “It was dark, and there weren’t that many people around, so it was kind of sketchy.” Oh said the extended wait is dangerous, especially after the recent string of on-campus crimes. “I understand that not that many people ride the bus at night, so there’s less need for buses,” Oh said. “But they should try to do something.” Graham said his office has received complaints about the buses running at night. “We’ve had complaints on almost every route,” Graham said. “Every complaint we get, we bring it to CATS’ attention, document it and follow up on it.” Graham said students’ safety while waiting for the nighttime bus is a concern, but no improvements have been made to the nighttime bus system since the crimes on campus.
“Of course we’re concerned,” Graham said. “If students have any concerns, we need to know about them, whether it’s lighting or whatever. But a lot of our routes are off-campus. We can adjust our stops, but we can’t really address a lot of the issues of city streets.” Graham said several factors cause delays. “Sometimes it’s traffic, sometimes the bus breaks down, sometimes the driver is screwing off,” Graham said. Graham said the longest he has heard of students waiting for a bus is 30 to 45 minutes. “Whether these complaints are valid or not, those are the types of things we’ll follow up on,” he said. Maj. Lawrence Rabalais, spokesperson for the LSU Police Department, said he is concerned about students waiting upwards of 30 minutes for a bus at night. “That is a long period of time to have to wait in the dark,” Rabalais said. Rabalais said campus police will be there to assist students who are uncomfortable waiting at night. “If anything concerns you, you can call the campus police, and we’ll come wait with you,” Rabalais said. Rabalais was hesitant to say LSUPD can bring students to their off-campus apartments. “If there’s a situation where a student didn’t feel safe waiting, we could arrange something,” Rabalais said. “But then, that takes police away from the streets on campus and lowers their response time.” Graham offered tips for students who have been waiting for lengthy periods of time at night. “From a safety stand point, call campus transit,” Graham said. “Students would at least be able to get on the campus transit bus and try to locate the CATS bus.” Oh said students riding the bus at night may be neglected. “There’s not a lot of people riding the bus at night, so they get taken out of consideration,” Oh said. Graham said improvements may soon be made to the night bus system. “We just got the counts in, and every year we reevaluate the whole system,” Graham said. Bus schedules can be found online, or a printed version can be picked up from the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation. Graham said the bus schedules posted at the bus stops were taken down when the bus schedules were changed this past year.
—-Contact Katie Kennedy at [email protected]