Students get on a BT in front of Torgersen Hall
Many Virginia Tech students have begun to notice the overcrowding of certain Blacksburg Transit buses.
Although buses come at regular 10-, 15- or 30-minute intervals throughout the day, they still appear to be bulging with people, making it uncomfortable for passengers. These overcrowded buses are either the early-morning buses or the late-night ones, known as the “drunk buses.”
“It’s annoying when it’s during the day and I can’t get on it, but the late-night bus is fun,” said sophomore Christina Danko.
The crowding of these buses forces many students to adjust their schedules.
“If I didn’t catch the :35 bus, the :45 bus is full and I have to get the :55 bus and then I’m late for my 10:10 class,” said senior Megan Porter.
Despite the students’ awareness of this crowding, Fiona Rhodes, a Blacksburg Transit spokesperson, said the BT has not received any complaints on the issue. Furthermore, there is no evidence that crowding on buses has deterred people from choosing to ride the bus.
The capacity of a bus varies depending on the different bus sizes. A 40-foot-long bus can hold up to 80 people. Rhodes said that number is based on the gross weight of the vehicle.
“The former safety and training coordinator for Blacksburg Transit conducted research on this number and found that our numbers regarding the amount of passengers on a bus is consistent with industry standards throughout the nation,” Rhodes said.
Each bus has an automated passenger counter in order to keep track of the number on the bus. If that is not being used, bus drivers count manually in order to ensure the safety of all passengers.
New articulated buses, the two-part vehicles, are used to help alleviate the overcrowding issues throughout the day. However, they are not used for specific routes every morning or to lessen the overcrowding in certain areas.
“The routes of the articulated buses depends on the day of the week, the heavy volume on buses, the function of the tripper and who is qualified to drive it,” Rhodes said.
Surveys recently distributed on BT buses are directly related to this specific issue. They are created for the future transit development plans, which may or may not address the overcrowding issue.
The crowding on buses proves to be an annoying hindrance to passengers, but not a safety issue.
“I don’t mind it, I just tolerate it,” said junior Gage Robertson. “It doesn’t really make me feel unsafe.”
A version of this article appeared in the Nov 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Wow... The CT has really packed it in... What is leading to this demise?
What a joke. A front page article with a misleading title and next to no research to substantiate the article's claim.
I'm guessing someone had an idea to write this piece, did a little research (finding out there had been no formal complaints), yet still decided to forge ahead in order to fulfill a deadline.
The CT is quickly becoming a waste of the paper it is printed on.
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hey hey hey....cool your jets
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Here's an idea. Much like rush hour, if you get your butt out of bed 20-30 minutes earlier you can miss the crowds and arrive at your class early with enough time to review your notes or do other useful activities.
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From a business perspective, a ridership perspective and a value to the community
there is fantastic news in the notion that our mass transit is so popular, so dependable,
so important to the community that it is crowded. In many places, they cut service due
to low ridership - we are fortunate to suffer the opposite. Keep riding! Keep submitting
comments and positive suggestions to BT - they are willing to listen, willing to adjust
schedules and willing to expand service.
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Consider this "evidence that crowding on buses has deterred people from choosing to ride the bus." I no longer ride the bus (unless absolutely necessary). Rather than become a daily rider I chose to either drive or bike due mostly to the over crowding.
This is infuriating to me because our rides are already paid for by our tuition. If the BT refuses to do something about this I want a refund for the portion of my tuition that went to them.
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Welcome to the life of being taxed... if you don't get the benefit out of a tax you can't opt out of paying it. I agree that it shouldn't be that way, but it is life and with voting fraud there is no real way out of it. Plus people are lazy and a "free" or "cheaper" benefit is always better.
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Yeah lets not do anything about a problem because that's the way things are.
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E-mail the head of Transportation Services at VT, Steve Mouras, at stmouras@vt.edu and set up a meeting with him. Or..even better...setup a meeting with the head of the BT at rmartin@blacksburg.gov. Your student fees pay for over 95% of their budget. You should be able to get a meeting to talk about the issues (or at least an e-mail response)
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How about you step up to the plate mr sga representative. Do something for the student body for once.
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I am no longer a SGA Representative - but the bustracker application and 24/7 Torg are just two examples of what last year's SGA accomplished.
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That was entirely uncalled for.
Don't make accusations against Brandon Carroll for not doing something for the student body, when you haven't taken any time to really find out and know what he's done for you. In Brandon's time at the SGA, he achieved an unprecedented number of very large tasks to make student life even better, including riding the bus.
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Overcrowding is still a big problem with the BT. With all the changes this year to the BT I gave it a second chance this semester. I never see the double buses when needed and the buses are often packed full to the point that I want off the nearest stop because I hate smelling the breath of people 12 inches from my face or the cough on my neck of the guy pressed against me ect.
I know it's the life of travel but this isn't the Washington DC metro, it's blacksburg, VA ....LOL.
Proposed solution: Just have two buses per destination at the popular rush hour times and popular crowded stops. The BT has enough data/statistics to figure out which stops/routes are stuffed and when.
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Depending on the route, there are usually at least two buses if not three running at a time on the most crowded routes. As for what happens when the bus is full, there are trippers sent to cover what the original bus couldn't pick up. If you have a problem, call it in. If no one complains, how are they going to know things need to change?
Last year when it was observed that the TCA/TCB buses were facing severe over crowding, they added an additional route for this year, Progress Street. A change was made, and more can continue to be made if people make it aware that there is an issue.
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Just imagine Blacksburg without bus service for a day and then you might realize the amazing effectiveness and resultant benefits we all gain. Some argue they will never ride the bus but we all benefit each day from the 5000 to 15000 fewer people trying to find parking spots, 5000 to 15000 fewer people driving single occupancy vehicles with associated emissions, and 5000 to 15000 fewer parking spaces that (in theory) we'd all have to spend resources on to build, maintain, and live with, most of which would be more parking garages and more seas of asphalt. As it is VT has been one of the last to build parking garages, and they are doing so slowly and with a plan in mind. Transit is part of the solution for a healthier, more balanced, walk-able community, with benefits for a range of people including the the 4-5 year undergraduate student, the grad student, staff or faculty member, visitors to Blacksburg and VT, and residents. These are just a few of the benefits.
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Which is why it would be that much better if the BT made changes to address this issue.
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