Campus buses add hassle to bustle

It takes more than a caffeine fix at Starbucks for Tisch junior Priya Shelly to make it to class. As a resident of Water Street residence hall, Shelly relies on university buses - the vital link between faraway residence halls and the Washington Square campus in operation since the late 1990s - in order to get to class. But buses that are crowded, frequently late and take convoluted routes have made Shelly's commute a constant inconvenience.

"Sometimes, the bus doesn't show up at all," she said.

While Campus Transportation ­- a program within the Department of Public Safety - aims to offer NYU students safe and reliable transportation every day, many students find it more of a hassle than a godsend.

"Coming from Water Street [the buses are] almost always overcrowded," Shelly said. "One morning, probably around 9 a.m., it was so crowded that I had to stand in the space between the doorway and the steps and grab onto bars just to get to my destination."

Tisch senior Becca Friedman, who also lives in the Water Street dorm, has had similar difficulties with the buses.

"Particularly, the 12 [p.m.] bus usually doesn't come and I'm stuck taking the 12:08, which gets in a minute before class starts."

GSP sophomore Emily Stern, who lives in Lafayette Street residence hall, is also rushed.

"The buses are rarely on time and with all the traffic in the morning, I'm always worried that I'll be late for class," Stern said.

GSP sophomore Yoojin Lim points to misinformed bus drivers as the source of these problems.

"There have been times when I was on the Route B bus back home to Broome Street and it didn't stop, so I ended up at Lafayette," Lim said.

Drivers are trained to make all stops so that students do not have to make requests.

Others resort to different forms of transit to get to class, whatever the cost. CAS senior Dominique Letang, who lives at the Water Street dorm, prefers to take the subway.

"It's easier," she said. "Even when the trains are running a little late, it's still quicker [than the buses]. I would say that 75 percent of the people I know [prefer to take the subway to class]."

Whether these mishaps are due to unpredictable New York traffic or new drivers adjusting to the routine after a summer off, Fred Barlow, assistant director of Training, Transportation and Research Analysis for the Office of Public Safety, encourages members of the NYU community to speak up.

"Complaints are not looked on as something to dread," he said. "At NYU, we look at them as opportunities."

Barlow recently researched how many complaints the Office of Public Safety has received since the start of the academic year. Since the beginning of this semester, there have been roughly 4,142 bus revolutions (one revolution is one complete cycle a bus makes on a route), but only 17 complaints. Of the complaints, 10 of them concern late buses and the others bring up buses not stopping when they were supposed to. This puts the rate of complaints at 0.41 percent.

"Get some [people from Public Safety] to sit there and wait for the buses and time them," Friedman said. "They need to take a second look."

Public Safety does perform discreet spot checks on buses, evaluating things like driver behavior and schedule compliance. Barlow also stressed that the transportation office makes efforts to create bus schedules that coincide with class schedules, namely the 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. blocks. Students are encouraged to check the bus schedule and should expect these peak-hour buses to be crowded.

"There are always going to be people who miss it by two minutes," Friedman said.

Barlow also mentioned "unexpected occurrences," which at times throw off the otherwise "reasonable schedules that, under normal conditions, can be met." Events like the annual San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy can cause unpredictable traffic.

Whatever the case, Barlow emphasized that www.nyu.edu/ride provides a link for a feedback form; every complaint is automatically forwarded to his inbox. He also wants students to know that good behavior and quality service should be recognized as well.

"The positive comments [received] also get the same attention that constructive criticism receives," he said. "There's a mechanism in place to recognize operation staff who do an exceptional job every day. ... That's something that passengers may want to be aware of."

Cristina Schreil is a contributing writer. E-mail her at features@nyunews.com.