Shuttle – The Concordian

Faculty members and students get together to discuss the neverending shuttle bus issue.

Concordia students and faculty members gathered on Tuesday, Jan. 18 to discuss an ongoing issue at the university: the shuttle bus.

Among those present at the conference were Roger Côté, Vice President, Services at Concordia, Desmond O’Neill, the university’s Manager of Transportations, Mail and Facility Management, representatives of the Facebook page Spotted: Concordia, as well as a number of engaged students.

Complaints as well as solutions were discussed.

Spotted: Concordia posted on their page about the event, informing students that the faculty was willing to listen to their ideas on how to improve the shuttle services. The representatives read the comments aloud to those in attendance.

The comments ranged from the lack of communication between the drivers and the shuttle bus riders to critiques of the digital screen at the bus stop and how it is seen as practically useless. Above all, attendees insisted that the bus is unreliable and inefficient. Many concerns and ideas that were raised were repetitive and similar.

Professors, as well as students, commented on the bus’ schedule—it is not coordinated with classes, nor does it account for the busiest times of the day, which leads to the bus being often overpacked. Students also mention its infrequency, and the absence of buses during weekends is inconvenient for students living in residences.

But, perhaps the most common complaints were about the riders’ inability to open the windows, and one particular driver’s dangerous driving. They remained unnamed, but the numerous nods indicated that everyone knew who the driver was.

While one driver was praised for their friendliness and kindness towards the students, another was criticized for their blatant road-rage, and as a result, their careless driving.

One student seemed especially exasperated.“One time, we almost curbed a biker,” he said.

“Once they got in a fight with another driver on Ste. Catherine, and practically chased them down the street,” a professor said. “It was not pretty.”

Ideas put forth for possible solutions included installing free wifi on the bus for students to study during traffic jams, improving the Concordia app for tracking purposes and informing students about possible issues with the bus. Additionally, the possibility of increasing the number of buses was also considered—more specifically, having them come every 15 to 20 minutes.

As the conference neared its end, O’Neill was asked if he had ever calculated the number of people who took the shuttle.

“There’s about three-quarter of a million people who take the shuttle per year,” he answered confidently. “We are working on maintaining the service, and enhancing the safety.”

“There seems to be a convergence on the issues,” Côté said. “We will make sure to get to a mutual agreement and respond to each and every one of your demands.”

Photo by Britanny Clarke

Unreliable shuttle leads to unsatisfied students

We’ve all been there: in a rush to get to your next class on Concordia’s other campus, you see the shuttle bus line from afar. Right away, you know that you are going to be late.

Why is it that, two months into the semester, there is still some confusion about the shuttle bus operation?

Concordia advertises a wait of “20 to 25 minutes,” so why is it that about 50 students (including one of our staff members) at the Loyola Campus waited 45 minutes for a shuttle bus to downtown, while two buses passed by letting students off, but not picking any up?

At around 10:40 a.m. last Wednesday morning, a shuttle bus pulled up and students began embarking, only to be told seconds later by the bus driver that the bus wasn’t going to be leaving for another 35 minutes. The students, confused, got off the bus, and back into line. The driver took off, on what we can only assume was his lunch break.

At about 10:55, a second bus pulled up, letting students off. The students waiting at Loyola prepared to get on the bus, only for it to be made obvious that this bus was not picking anyone up either. An obviously frustrated student asked the bus driver why no buses were going back downtown. The bus driver made a shrugging motion; the defeated student got off the bus, and the driver drove away.

While it should be noted that the schedule listed on Concordia’s website says a bus passes at 10:30 and 11:15, which is what happened, a sign posted outside the shuttle bus shelter only shows the bus times for Fridays.

Considering it takes about 45 minutes to travel with public transit between campuses, at the very least, it should be clearly stated when there will be a wait for the shuttle that is equally long. Many students don’t have the luxury of a bus pass, and rely on the shuttle to be there when they need it, without having to wait obscene amounts of time (in the middle of the school day, no less).

It doesn’t help that the GPS navigation feature on the shuttle bus locator screen is under construction. Why bother offering a subpar service that only leads to dissatisfaction and frustration? Also, why does service slow down (from a 15-minute wait between buses, to a 45-minute wait) at 10:30 a.m., clearly a busy time for students needing to switch campuses in order to make it to their next class.

Unfortunately, it seems students won’t have much chance to get their voice heard on the matter. Also, it seems to be unfair for the bus drivers, who only show up when they’re supposed to, but have to feel the heat of frustrated students who have no one else to project their dissatisfaction onto.

Clearly, Concordia is not on a roll with their shuttle service.