I'm writing to voice my dissatisfaction with the CATA bus service. It's not even a month into classes, and already the service students are receiving from the CATA bus system is causing problems for students and professors alike. This certainly isn't what we are paying for.
As a student living off campus, I accept the responsibilities of getting myself to campus every day in time for my class. I've accepted this responsibility by leaving my apartment earlier to make it on time to class — an hour and a half earlier to be precise. Like many apartment complexes in the area, we are issued a bus pass, and it really does save time and money when the bus is running on time. But it starts to get ridiculous when four buses all arrive within a period of 10 minutes. Then, they leave students waiting as far out as Lake Lansing Road for anywhere between 20-25 minutes, only to arrive with a bus so crowded that it's unsafe for anyone else to board because of the time it took the bus to get here.
It's at this point when students are so fed up with the bus and worried they'll be late for class that they drive to campus. And at 50 cents per half hour in the garages in East Lansing, it's too expensive to have to keep doing this because the buses aren't reliable. Isn't the idea of having a bus system on and off campus supposed to be to decrease the amount of students driving?
This same problem happens on campus with the lack of dependability with arrival times. Why are there bus schedules printed showing arrival times anywhere between eight to 10 minutes when that is not what is happening? I understand buses might be delayed by five minutes or so, or even that a bus might break down. I also understand the drivers need to rotate for breaks. What I don't understand is why the bus system is so unorganized.
Drivers, please realize the longer you socialize among yourselves or the longer it takes you to smoke your cigarette, the further delayed people are for class, including professors who rely on CATA. The drivers know when the busiest times of the day are on campus. They see the buildup of students at the stops and the increase of students on the buses. So why is it, during these busiest times of the day, there are two or three buses "out of service" at the CATA ramp and maybe one or two buses running their routes? Or why does it, many times, take 15 minutes to get a certain numbered bus to the ramp?
A few days ago, I was worried that I would be delayed by the bus, so I walked from Hubbard Hall to the CATA ramp — not a very long distance, but in the rain, it's not that pleasant. And sure enough, during my walk, I saw three buses pass the bus stops by Akers, Holmes and McDonel halls without stopping. Why? They read "out of service" because they were full — because it took the driver so long to get there.
Usually, if someone wants to protest service they are receiving from a company, they stop going to or using the company. But with CATA being the only way to get around anywhere on MSU and even in East Lansing within a certain amount of time, we are forced to continue to use CATA. The passengers are the ones ultimately suffering in the long run.
Jessica Fischman
sociology senior
