WTA Bus Stuffing (Rant)

I know precisely where you are coming from.  I live at BW, and walk to campus every day, partly because I feel that to take the bus would be sheer laziness and also because I enjoy the scenery.  I do not understand why people simply must not walk any distance if at can be avoided.  It's almost as bad as Yakima, where I have seen people get in their car to drive to the mailbox and then drive back to their garage.  I expected more from WWU...

On another note, I am pleasantly surprised with what I have seen of the courtesy of drivers here.  They make yakimanians look like complete barbarians!

Why don't you just bike up to campus? It's only an extra two blocks from the downtown station than it is for people walking from the indian/holy stop, plus your on a bike.  What you should be whining about is how the schools are forcing students to buy bus passes for a bus system that is far too over capacity to adequately serve everyone they've sold passes too.

I also do not ride the bus but i do not care what others choose to do.  If you have time to get up in the morning take a shower do your hair and complain about how everyone else isnt as perfect as you are i think you could manage getting up 10 minutes earlier and riding your bike up the hill.  Quit complaining

I do agree with you on one level, but it is also out of your control about whether or not other people ride the bus. I mean I to live in BW and I walk everyday rain or shine because it is good exercise, but you should senf your complaint to WTA not on a WWU board. I think you will accomplish more that way

agreed with Burns.

Bus passes have become mandatory, it's silly to think that a glut of people who just happen to live closer to campus than you shouldn't use them just because it throws people a few minutes off-schedule. Especially because the person ranting is someone who racks up their bike, making them someone who slows down bus-pickups considerably longer than your average rider.

It's the same thing with the Health Center: whenever someone actually requires the service, that service is going to take a significant dip in effectiveness from all of the people using it at any given opportunity just so they can feel like they're getting their money's worth. Those people shouldn't be condemned, there's no abuse of the system here. It's the system itself you should be complaining about.

...But really, can't you just take an earlier bus?

I live on Indian and I have no shame in taking the bus to class.  It's interesting to read that people have a problem with it, and I am glad that you are at least sharing your feelings instead of being really passive about it.  But you shouldn't use yourself as a comparison for everybody else.  It's great that you had no problem walking to class when you lived on Ellis, but some of us barely have time for breakfast in the morning, because we just aren't morning people.  So sorry for your grievances, but things will probably be better in the spring, or maybe even next year they can add to the bus schedule.  Demand and pressure on the busses can only be a good thing right now as people learn to be more sustainable and take the bus to school.

But,
I'm not complaining about the system.
I'm complaining about the thumbsuckers who day in and day out wait 15 minutes in a line for a 5 minute bus-ride up a 7 minute walking hill - a personal choice. nor am I perfect: i don't even have hair! and the makeup thing, well...I wish I had time to rouge my almost-perfect bald head before early-morning rants, but I'm too busy biking to the bus station in order to sit at the terminal and sulk.
Again, I would like someone who takes these routes to respond. And I understand these points, but I maintain the right to be peeved.

Okay, so I take the bus around Seahome Hill instead of walking now that I've got my mandatory bus pass.  And, yeah... it's a pain that I have to watch two or three full busses drive by in the morning before one with enough room to pack fifteen more kids in finally stops.  But that's what it is.  Those kids closest to the school are piled up at those stops because they have to watch a couple full busses roll by before yours finally stops for them.

I like my bus pass.  I like the extra fifteen minutes to make and eat a hot breakfast.  Or sleep in.  I agree, we're all super obnoxious for getting on the bus, but we all suffer as a collective bus-riding mass so that each of us individually can benefit from the busses.  Personally, I think five minutes of having strangers involuntarily (or at least psudo-voluntarily) crammed into our personal space does us all a bit of good anyway.

^_^

I know it's crazy why people do things.  I can't understand why people do anything at all.  We'd all be alot better off do nothing but meditating and growing food to support ourselves.  If we did nothing but meditate we'd have no environmental problems, no crime, no wars, to personal strife like anxiety.  If we could do away with everything and just meditate and let our minds be free of the world then the world would be perfect.  I think societies problems are inversely proportinoal to the amount of meditation the society practices.  If you just meditated then you wouldn't need a bus or a bike or even to go to school because you would have everything you need.  The people crowding the bus wouldn't be there because they'd all be meditating and the people who have longer routes on the bus line wouldn't be there because they'd be meditating.   

that's a good point: after all, the people cramming the aisles are probably equally as uncomfortable as I am. I guess if someone was aggravated enough to stop riding the buses for this reason, they'd probably find a way to get to campus regardless, myself included. Thanks for the responses.

 We have every right to take the bus, we all have a bus pass. And who are you to decide where the cutoff line is for where it is "acceptable" to take the bus? Like a lot of people brought up, its hard enough to make time to eat breakfast in the morning, let alone save an extra 20+ minutes just to walk to class, when you could take a 5 minute bus ride. Also, some of us carry laptops, or books and walking uphill for 20 minutes first thing in the morning isn't exactly a dream come true. And also agreeing with someone else who posted, if you are one of the people loading your bike onto the bus, you are causing a hold up as well. I think it is a little self righteous to tell people they shouldn't take the bus.

I think certain parts of the bus system is a pain, like how they all come 2 minutes before class gets out, and then don't come again for another 15-20 minutes. But i think the last thing to be upset about is that a lot of people are taking them. I think its great students take the bus, it's better than them all driving cars to campus. And even though we can be "crammed like sardines" I think that is better than a half full bus passing you by altogether and making you late for class.

Hi All,

Thanks for student_account for starting the discussion!

I’m the current A.S. Alternative Transportation Coordinator, and just want to give you all some information that may be helpful:

WTA is very well-aware of the severe overcrowding on routes to/from campus. The reason that they are not adding buses is due to money. Unfortunately they simply do not have the funding to add more buses to the current routes or add more service. Everything they have is being spent.

Your Student Transportation Fee makes up only a small fraction of their budget; the vast majority of their funding comes from sales tax revenue, which has been faltering due to the economy.

Long story short, WTA knows about the problems and would love to do something about it but they simply don’t have the money and it’s looking like that’s not going to change any time soon unless some serious changes happen.

If you have any questions, comments (or complaints) feel free to e-mail me at AS.Transportation@wwu.edu and keep the comments coming.
 

Maybe this and last year have shown us that making us pay for mandatory bus passes isn't the best idea. I live relatively close to campus but will sometimes catch the bus because its easier. Obviously the bus system doesn't have the ability to fix the problem, and I know I wouldn't be riding the bus if I didn't have a pass. If I have to pay for it, I'm going to use it, but really I would prefer not having to pay for it at all. If the WTA can't fix the problem, maybe we should stop paying for mandatory bus passes.

The crowding isn't what bothers me so much. It is what it is. I mean it is frustrating to see bus after bus drive by as the minutes until class start are ticking away. But nothing short of more funding or a sudden drop in ridership is going to change that. What really bugs me though (and maybe this is only a Ferry Street bus stop thing), is when people que up in some semblence of the order in which you will be boarding the bus, when someone walks up to the head of the line, or to the covered structure at the head of the line and drops themselves in ahead of everyone else. This happens more often on days in which its raining. Then its not the 3 buses that pass you by that's frustrating, but the one that does stop and lets on five or six more people, including the one who 'line jumped' everyone by walking to the front. Everyone else is standing out in the rain, or waiting to get to class. What makes one person more special than anyone else to get one of the few coveted spots on the bus and making everyone else who was there before you wait even longer. I guess what I'm getting at is please be aware of the other people around you at the bus stop. If there's only a few spots on a bus, let those who were there before you go first.

Dude.

What pisses me off is when people are afraid of getting coodies on the bus and refuse to move back enough to make room for the shivering, tiny tim bodies awaiting outside.  The smell of the person next to me awakens my mind in the morning, and I honestly don't understand the problem.  I think we should start making lap-sitting and piggy back rides mandatory.  Let's rub all up on each other.  MMM, yeah.

 to the O.P.

dude quit complaining, so more people take the bus we pay for it anyway why not use it when we feel like it, they are not going to increase busses on that route to handle that capacity especially with how much it would cost, so how about you wake up earlier, ride your bike, carpool or drive yourself 

In defense of the original poster, it is basically straight uphill to campus from downtown. Telling him to ride his bike instead of taking the bus is kind of unreasonable, especially coming from a lot of people who refuse to deal with a fifteen minute walk on a relatively gentle incline (like from Buchanan towers or the neighborhoods surrounding campus.)

Hey everyone,

This is an interesting thread, and I just had to chime in :-).  I live on Indian Street, next to Laurel Park.  Some thoughts on this:

1) I think it's important to remember that just because you see someone getting on the bus at a bus stop (i.e. Laurel Park), that person doesn't necessarily LIVE there.  I live next to Laurel Park and everyday I watch WWU students park on my street (and even in non-public parking lots, including the 2-hour-limit Laurel Park parking spots).  So please don't assume that just because someone is getting on the bus at Indian that they are lazy or etc etc.  They may be driving here from far away and parking there car here, then taking the bus up the hill.  It's beyond a bus issue -- it's a *parking* issue.  Indian is the closest non-paying parking to campus, so, unfortunately for my neighbors and I it's a WWU commuter parking lot.  So that hoarde of people getting on the bus each morning may in fact be made up of a large number of people who park their cars on local streets and take the bus the rest of the way.  Granted, you could argue that even then they should simply walk up the hill....but, that brings me to point #2...

2) I live 5 minutes from campus.  I ride my bike a lot.  If bus passes weren't mandatory I would *not* use the bus.  But here's the thing: if the University has the audacity to make me pay for a bus pass, then it's only fair that I take advantage of it.  Right?  It would be a double slap in the face for those of us who live next to WWU to not *only* be forced to pay the bus pass, but, *then* to be told that *taking* the bus is lazy, or etc. etc.  We can't win.  It's not my decision to pay a transportation fee.  I'm absolutely capable and fine with walking or biking, even in the rain/snow or with heavy bags and such.  But the fact is that the University is charging me for this service without my approval --- so what am I supposed to do?  Not utilize the service that I'm being charged to use?  That's like saying that Western mandates a "coat fee" and charges us for coats that they make available to us, but there's not enough coats for everyone, and people criticize me because I don't "need" the coat since I already own a coat.  But if I'm being charged for something, I feel I should be entitled to use it --- otherwise, don't charge me.  It's the same with the gym, isn't it?  We're charged to use the gym whether we actually use it or not.  Would you criticize someone who owns a home-gym or who works at a gym for taking up room in WWU's gym, if, say, WWU's gym were overcrowded???  Or what if I carry a laptop but I decide to use a computer lab computer --- and someone walks in and is upset because he/she insists I should be using my laptop rather than a lab computer since the lab is full?   Again, if WWU wants to force students to pay for something, then students have the right to use it. It's not always about distance -- it's also about time.  The bus saves time.  And if we're paying for it, we might as well get our time & money's worth, no?   Sure, I could walk up the hill -- I do sympathize with the sardine-bus situations.  But imagine how that makes us feel (the locals who live beside campus).  Walking up the hill in the cold with a heavy backpack, as a bus passes us, all the while thinking how unfair it is that WWU is charging us for a service that we're not even using (and are criticized for using should we decide to use it).  Mandatory bus passes aren't okay with me; so long as I'm charged for them, I'm using them.  If they weren't mandatory I'd gladly walk.  But I'm getting my money's worth.  So don't fault the parkers and the locals; fault those who decided to implement a mandatory bus pass.
 

Just my thoughts.  As I see it, the real issue here isn't the people on Indian who are "interfering" with the bus system -- they have the same rights (and the same annual mandatory bus pass expense!) as everyone else.  The real issues are WTA's budget limitations, and, a policy of mandatory bus passes.  If they weren't mandatory there'd be less ridership and thus not so many packed buses; but, then they wouldn't be making as much money.  My point is, don't fault the people on Indian who take the bus -- they have every right to take the bus if they're being forced to pay for it. 

I occasionally take the bus from the Health services center because once in a great while I have to actually dress up to go to class, be it for a presentation or whatever. I don't like to carry a 25 lbs bag in heels. I've done that and I ended up with blisters all over my feet by the time I made it to Red Square... then I still had to walk around all day and then make it home. I was in tears walking home last time I did that. Also, when it's nice weather, I walk, when it's crappy, I like to ride, because 2 years ago I walked during a very bad wind storm, and what happened? I got hit in the head with a falling branch. Let me try to explain how that feels: Like someone throwing a rock into your brains as hard as they can! So, forgive me, if I don't like to be hit by flying debris. And also, now that we all have bus passes, I waited and watched 4 buses pass me yesterday while I waited with a VERY heavy bag. And finally had to walk to class, late, and with a back problem.

I contacted WTA yesterday about this nuisance and the man in charge informed me that they ARE aware of the problem, but they just don't have any more buses. They've ordered more, which should show up in a few months (after I've graduated, that is), but until then, there is nothing they can do. His advice: arrive 15 minutes early, so you're not taking the last 4 buses up the hill.

A lot of people have presented some very good points. I walk about 20 minutes to class, but I always walk because the closest bus stop between my apartment and my classes is on campus. By then it's like, 'well, what's the point?'

On the other hand, I almost always look like crap by the time I get to class. It's hard making a 20 minute hike almost completely uphill. Your hair gets messy, your eye makeup gets smudged, your nose is runny, etc etc. It's even worse when it's pouring down rain. Sitting in class all day with soggy pants on is no fun. Call me vain, but I would probably ride the bus to class if it was more convenient.

Plus, we all are paying for it (as many people have already said)!

And I don't think it's fair to talk about caring about one's appearance like it's a bad thing; if someone is going to "model" their hair and "perfect" their makeup, then obviously they don't want it to get all messed up by walking to class.

Here's my response.

I live on high street by chestnut and some mornings I take the bus over to the south side for two reasons:

1. It's difference between leaving at 8 am and at 8:15am which may not seem like a lot but if I overslept or something, it's a HUGE deal.

2. I have asthma. The walk up the hill and the cold temps aggitate it big time to the point I feel physically sick. And biking does the exact same.

I understand your frustration though. Sometimes I catch a bus at BT and they are ALWAYS full and I'm thinking wtf, it takes 15 minutes to walk to the VU, why catch the bus here? I go to that one because I walk from a ways away to the catch that bus at BT but when you live in that dorm? WHHHHYYYY???

Anyways, just another thought.

Apparently it does to you. I agree that the perfectly healthy young bloods should be walking more. I look perfectly healthy, but I have a bad knee that acts us sometimes on the walk to campus. I live about 5mins from BT, and I know that if I take the bus I save about 6min from just walking to campus. However, sometimes my knee acts up so I take the bus. I'm sure the mandatory passes are making some of the spoiled youth lazier, but that doesn’t mean that everyone on the bus is lazy.
As for jammed in conditions... don't even start. Spend the summer in Tokyo and see if you feel this is crowded. I used to spend 2-3 hours a day on a train that had so little room you could literally sleep on your feet. (And many did) Add 100% humidity and 90degree weather and you have an uncomfortable situation that makes the bus ride to campus looking like a dream. Could people be more considerate? Sure, but they won't. Blame society for that one. Do your part and set an example. No forum will change anything.

Yeah, but this isn't Tokyo, this is BELLINGHAM. Huge population difference. A lot of people came to WWU because the student population is a lot smaller than UW (for example). I am now a senior here, so I've seen how crowded the busses have gotten since the Transportation Fee was put into effect.

I've used public transportation in a number of developing world megalopolises in stifling SE Asia, including buses to rural villages with people hanging from windows, roosting on the roof, and babies in my arms. the thing is, people suffer those conditions day in and out because they have no other choice. if they could walk 5 hours with 90 pound straw baskets full of produce on their backs they would. most within a reasonable walk do. everyone else makes the miserable commute instead. not to mention the frequency of air-borne diseases and illnesses transmitted from passenger to passenger. it's this perspective which leaves me perplexed on my way to and from campus, but also makes me grateful I don't have to be immunized before leaving for school.

to whoever posted about the grade from downtown to campus: thank you. i don't know of many who are fit or willing enough to make that trip on bike every day during winter weather (myself included). and i'm already riding for 15+ before the terminal, so let's be reasonable here.

and to the poor poster with the heels: frankly, if blisters and rain are enough to set you a'weepin' and a'gnashin' your teeth, i find it difficult to envision a world in which you're equipped to live.

that having been said, i apologize for the vitriolic nature of the original post; i suppose everyone whom this affects is at least a little bit frustrated. your posts have taught me things i was unaware of before. what started as a rant has become a discussion of the current community budget setbacks, which is far more relevant and helpful anyway, and for that I suppose we should all be grateful. the more proactive we are about the stuffing, the greater opportunity for change: Rick.Larsen@mail.house.gov

Whoa! That's pretty ignorant. I think she had a good point. Obviously you can't understand because you've never worn heels.

I can envision a world in which a girl in heels can live--it involves public transportation.

Sometimes you have to dress for the occasion, and I don't think there is ever an occasion where you have to high heels. Thats simply a fashion choice. You can't wear high heels and ride a unicycle either, but don't expect the unicycle companies to adapt for you. If the student is having difficulties but really wants to wear high heels, they could always wear a siple slip on for the hike to and from, and then change on campus. (much like many of the office women in Tokyo did.)

I agree that this isn't Tokyo, but when you are talking about overcrowding, it doesn't hurt to look at places that have it and observe how they handle it. I actually found that though the train could get me somewhere in 10 minutes, walking the surface street of Tokyo was actaully not too bad. I had to adjust my schedule to account for the extra 20 min walk, but it was exercise and a positive environment compared to the lazy stressfull train. (though that only relates to the shorter in town rides I had.)

We're not expecting anyone to adapt for us, we just want to use a service that we're already paying for.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you can't, but I'm just saying that using your fashion choice as an excuse is not very valid when considering the bigger picture.

I'll catch it if it's coming as I'm walking by or I'm late or sick, but I cannot understand why someone would wait more time for a bus that it would take to walk.

I will never understand why people take the bus from campus services to south campus/ the rec. You can literally see the south campus stop from the campus services stop. You could already be sitting in your seat in class in the time that you wait for the bus.

i pay for a bus pass so im riding the bus yo

what drives me crazy is when i am on the bus (usually in the back) and people do not sit down when there is an open seat that happens to be between two people. they stand, then the next people who enters the bus stand becuase they logically think there are no open seats if someone is already standing...

sometimes i make people aware that there are seats open, sometimes they sit down and other times they say they would rather stand. it is annoying.

people complain about the mandatory bus pass however the student body voted to have a mandatory bus pass, majority rules, so you just have to get over the fact you have to pay for it.

i personally think every student should have a bus pass, it is safer that way and people are never in a situation of being "stuck" or feeling like they cant leave their house/dorm. the bus system we have is very convient and goes to all the major destinations, while it might not be perfect its better than no bus system at all!

sadly, this is the most intelligent post in the thread.

I COMPLETELY agree! This is the one bus behavior that seriously gets on my nerves. Especially because they don't even just stand at the back, they stand about halfway to the back, and then don't move any further when more people get on. So as the bus is filling up, and people towards the front are having to stand all crammed together and the bus is passing stops because the driver thinks there's no more room, the entire back half (okay, maybe entire back third, but still a significant portion!) of the bus not only has standing room, but has like 5 extra seats!  This boggles my mind. Does anyone know why people do this?

@spannc - A number of reasons.
Ones I can think of are:
- they are getting off soon anyway and don't want to sit
- they don't want to squeeze between people
- they figure it's not too crowded on the bus
- they don't care

Oh, and it peeves me when people take the bus from the VU to the Ridge or South Campus.
One night for the 7:16 route 196 bus, the bus was stuffed, and I had to wait another hour for the next bus.  I need to go all the way to Lincoln Creek on that bus.

"Oh, and it peeves me when people take the bus from the VU to the Ridge or South Campus."

Or the huge crowd that gets on the already-full bus to school two blocks from Bucky Towers.  The whole reason they built so many apartments there was that they didn't need transportation to get to campus.

But in general, people are in their own private worlds, and it is extremely unlikely they are thinking "how can my behavior make the transit system work better?".  It's a fairly abstract form of consideration or politeness, but ultimately that's really what it is - a kind of consciousness of how one's existence affects others.
 

QUOTE:  The real issues are WTA's budget limitations, and, a policy of mandatory bus passes.  If they weren't mandatory there'd be less ridership and thus not so many packed buses; but, then they wouldn't be making as much money.  

Be advised that WTA is NOT making money by having more buses on the road, they are losing money.  Public transit is not a money making business, hence the need for all that public funding.  Farebox revenues are a mere 10% of the operating expenses of WTA.  Probably less when the bulk of those "fares" are WWU Viking passes.

WWU subsidizes some of the cost to students for WTA service, and some of it (as you know) comes from students paying the transportation fee.  The rest comes out of the same tax-payer-pie as the other, non WWU routes.  WTA has supplemented the regular WWU service with several extra buses at peak times (some of those you see with the word "shuttle" in their title) without being reimbursed by WWU for the entire cost.  As far as I can tell, everyone is getting to school in the mornings and home in the afternoons (albeit a little later than you might have hoped).

Have you used the late night shuttle at WWU?  I have and it's been GREAT.  That is another service that our "mandatory bus pass" pays for.  And yes, the transportation fee was approved by a vote of the student body a couple years ago.

I love the Late Night bus. I live in Buchanan Towers, and sure, I can walk home quite easily, but in the middle of winter especially, it's nice to be able to catch a warm bus home rather than having to walk [insert length of campus here]. Once it gets warmer I'll probably bike and/or walk more often.

However, I do think a lot of people use the bus just because they have to pay for their bus pass, and this may contribute to bus crowding. When it comes time to "re-up" (I can't think of the right word, I'm very tired right now >_<) the mandatory fee, I think it may be a good idea to make it optional. I'm not sure how possible that is, as having the entire student body buy it may give WWU a larger discount, but I know I would still buy it, and most of my friends would as well.

your good idea is that people who want a bus pass should buy a bus pass?

revolutionary!

True, a lot of people use it now just because they're mandatory which contributes to overcrowding.  The student body voted (I think it was something like only 20 percent of the total student population voted, but don't quote me on that)overwhelmingly for the mandatory bus passes two years ago.  Before that, it was optional.  I still do not understand why so many people voted for them, because they used to be optional but you still got a big discount.  I think they were 20-25 dollars per quarter.  I ride my bike to school every day, and have used my bus pass less than ten times this school year.  It sucks having another add-on to tuition which i do not use, even though it was voted in by the students. 

A 20% voter turnout sounds pretty good, actually.  Not to sound too cynical...  Is there a sunset clause in the transportation fee policy?

It may be worthwhile to try to find out how much more passes would cost for WWU students if the mandatory transportation fee went away.  WTA is proposing to raise fares, so that should affect the cost of Viking passes too.

Also, for those of you with cars, you can use your Viking pass as a parking permit in many lots on campus evenings (put it on your dash).  I use it for that purpose sometimes - really convenient if I'm going to be on campus late - such as this time of the quarter  =:-o     

http://www.ps.wwu.edu/parking/info/evening.aspx

Get over the fact that people who have bus passes will USE them. We didn't get them to frame them and stare at them, we got them so we can go places, and how people use the passes is up to them.  

Also: the reason why I wear heels to school is up to me. I could have a presentation that I have to make. I could have an interview. Heck, it could be for my JOB.

It's not really my place to say anything, and this will be totally off-topic, but... you don't need heels to make a presentation. Or an interview. And if an employer makes you wear them, well, that's ridiculously lame to say the least. I hear many, many girls complain about how uncomfortable heels are. And yet so many girls continue to wear them by choice. It just boggles my mind to no end!

Yeah I hate heels. They suck. That's why I usually wear flip flops or sneakers. :) But a couple of times I have had to go to class in heels...I'm very short and pants are usually wayyyyy long. Yes, I could get them hemmed, but then they look weird...also, it seems to be expected that when girls have to dress up, they wear heels. Just like we're supposed to wear hose. And makeup. And have our hair perfect. And our nails did. Etc. Just like when guys are expected to dress up, they wear a tie.

WTA should find some other way to add buses to the route. What is the Alternative Transportation Committee doing? This is partly what they are tasked with: tracking and analyzing route and ridership trends, and responding to them by suggesting changes to the system. There are a variety of reasons to try and catch the bus on indian other than laziness. In any case, we all pay for the same service and the fact that you live way off campus  doesn't grant you more privileges than anyone else. Sorry if the buses are cramped but we're entitled to the same service as anyone else! :)

this is the second most intelligent post in the thread, right behind Richard Knass.

 It's really amazing to me how often people would rather assume the worst of people. It seems the conclusion many of the complainers have arrived at is that people who ride the bus shorter distances are lazy, rather than simply strapped for time, or disabled. Not every disability is visible, nor is it readily apparent if someone has a demanding, jam-packed schedule to keep up with.

For example, I work for in the VU and attend most of my classes in Fairhaven. My schedule is often so jam-packed that I only have 10-15 minutes between work and class. So do I take the bus to South Campus? You bet I do, because to not do so would be to either run the entire way there with a backpack full of books and a laptop, or be late to class, which is disruptive to my fellow students and disrespectful of my instructors.

Not everyone who rides the bus for these short distances is lazy. In fact, some of us work very hard and need any extra time we can get. Frankly, the real problem is with riders who are so afraid of other people touching them that they do not make room for the people standing out in the cold. Those people paid the same amount of money in transportation fees as everyone on the bus, and need to get to class (or work) on time just as badly as the people inside who can't be bothered to squeeze in between two bodies or move back in a timely manner to allow the people waiting outside to board. 

Well,

I get up at 5:30-6AM just to get ready and out the door in time to catch the 80X so that I catch the connecting 80X Shuttle so that I can barely reach the college in time for my 8AM linguistics class. 

What?  You want me to make a point with that?  I just thought I'd share.  Though I wonder how many complaints I shamed with mine... 

My personal opinion is that, 95% of the time, if you live in BT or south of E Maple, you have no business taking the bus to campus. More often than not, it takes more time to walk out, wait for the bus, catch it, and get off, than it does to just walk. ESPECIALLY when it's nice outside. That said, I'd much rather have crowded buses than a crowded parking lot.

Man that subject line is hilarious.  Consider the following:  1) I can't be bothered to actually READ every post in this thread. 2) As a very erudite person early in the thread noted, the bus passes are now mandatory, and therefrore, we all pay the same right.  Everybody has an equal right to use those buses, regardless of how close to campus they live.

That said, it does make a lot of sense for those people to recognize that there IS a problem with overcrowded buses, particularly later in the hour.  Plan your bus rides accordingly, and be kind.  Nobody cares if you never had a problem walking up Indian, you are not the baseline by which the rest of humanity is measured.