The only thing worse than standing around waiting for the bus is doing it in the freezing cold and six inches of snow.
Bus traffic is heavier in the winter months, which contributes to increase in the amount of time students must wait for Campus Area Bus Service.
“People that normally walk will ride because of the cold weather,” said Sarah Blouch, director of Transportation and Parking Services.
Blouch said she would like to have more buses on each route, but CABS does not have an unlimited budget.
“We may increase fees or reduce service next year,” she said.
CABS runs 23 buses at peak hours daily to accommodate the 4 million people who ride with them each year. This number may drop as funding for the buses, which comes solely from parking fees, is being competed for by the building of more parking garages.
“We are going to have to start cutting because we don’t have enough money to give buses the normal 28 percent of parking revenues,” Blouch said.
“I sometimes have to wait 20 minutes in the cold to get on a bus,” said Lauren Gwin, a graduate student in education. “With less buses, who knows how long I will be waiting.”
Blouch said the average waiting time for buses varies greatly.
“Buses that come from the Buckeye Lot come every six to eight minutes, West Campus takes 10 to 12 minutes, and residential buses come about every 15 to 30 minutes,” she said.
Many factors are slowing the buses down and increasing the waiting time for students. With the cold comes snow and ice, which force the bus drivers to travel more cautiously. With an increase in riders, it takes longer to get people on and off at each stop. A third major factor is the construction on campus.
“The closing of the Lane Avenue bridge has caused some problems because more traffic is on campus,” Blouch said. “The north and south loop, which used to take 22-25 minutes now is taking almost 34 minutes.”
Ashley Zirkle, a senior in turfgrass science, said he bought a “C” pass because waiting on West Campus made him late for classes.
“I didn’t feel like leaving my apartment, which is only 10 minutes away, 45 minutes early just so I could wait on a bus,” he said. “They need to run more buses.”
