IU Campus Bus System: vote again for safety

Two months ago, I wrote a column entitled “Campus failed to consider safety when changing route.”  The piece included a shocking, yet extremely revealing quote from Christopher Manning, a student supervisor for IU Campus Bus Service, about the recent changes to the B Bus route: “We didn’t really think about late night dangers when we removed the stops.”

In response to this, I recommended the campus buses maintain the current route system during the day but reinstate the old route for night hours to
increase overall safety and efficiency.

On Oct. 17, The IU Student Transportation Board voted on changing the B Route to the former route pattern starting at 8 p.m. on weekdays and weekends to include stops along Third Street, Indiana Avenue, Seventh Street, Woodlawn Avenue and 10th Street.  

Unfortunately, the bus system still does not understand the importance of such a change because they voted it down.

“The STB voted not to make any changes to the B Route at this time,” said Perry Maull, Operations Manager for the IU Campus Bus Service in an email.

I applaud the bus services for considering the concerns of so many students around campus, but what I don’t understand is why they felt the need to turn down such an easily implemented change.

Was it a question of efficiency? It shouldn’t be, considering there is little to no traffic after 8 p.m., meaning a bus can smoothly maneuver through campus with minimal delays.  

Was it a question of safety? Certainly not, since the bus services were able to drive this route in the past without a security issue.

I ask these questions with the knowledge that IU CBS has asked students to voice their concerns but has yet to follow up.

Associate Vice President of University Communications Mark Land argued that few students have complained about this topic. To Land and the IU CBS: I assure you I am not alone in these complaints.  

Senior Michelle Holleb said the bus services visited her sorority house Alpha Xi Delta several months ago to ask about any issues they had with the revised bus system. Holleb, a journalism student, said she questioned the B Bus route efficiency and the removal of the stop outside of the IU School of Journalism.

“I expected to hear about changes because they said they hadn’t thought about some of these issues and would take them into consideration,” Holleb said. “However, they came at least a couple months ago, and they have not addressed any of these concerns.”

Although I specifically asked Maull to offer a response to students who say they don’t feel safe walking through campus in the dark to catch a bus, I received no direct answer. Instead, I was told the following: “Safety is job number one of any public transportation operation.”

If safety is such a priority, then why has this plan been overlooked?  

The city of Bloomington feels less safe these days. As IDS columnist Patrick Beane pointed out Tuesday, “strange and disturbing things keep happening without warning.”

In the span of 10 days, four random shootings occurred, killing one and wounding another. And although no one was hurt his past Sunday when a non-student pointed a gun at fraternity members and then fired it in the air, I’m sure everyone remembers the fear they experienced when told by the IU administration to “remain inside your home.”

What is it going to take for the bus service to realize that campus isn’t as safe as it used to be? Instigating a change in response to these awful crimes is the only logical answer.

I am not implying the changed route is responsible for any crimes, but unless the bus services become part of the solution, there is no way IU can completely reassure students and parents they are doing everything in their power to guarantee safety on campus.  

So please, IU CBS, vote again on this issue.  

When there are so many uncertainties about the safety of Bloomington, why not provide one reliable certainty?

­— esalomon@indiana.edu