Waiting for 20 minutes for the possibility at riding a bus should not be a reality.
Anyone who has to ride the west campus Tiger Transit route knows my pain.
I should not have to wake up and get on the bus 40 minutes before my class starts, an 8 a.m. class no less, to get a seat.
Although it's expected to have many students riding the buses the first week of class, it's now September, and the west campus buses are still packed, causing various stops to be skipped because people are already standing up.
I understand Tiger Transit has gone through some changes, such as hiring many new bus drivers, but their inexperience is not the problem.
There are not enough buses on the west campus route at prime points in the day.
For example, at 2 p.m. at the Student Center, there was a mob of students wanting to get on the west campus bus, as if the driver was handing out free ice cream. I was not fortunate enough to get on that bus and had to wait for another one.
There were only three buses on the west campus route at that time, while at other parts of the day there were as many as five buses on the route at a time.
I understand it costs more money to run more buses and that patience is a virtue, but west campus has never had this problem before this semester.
Thousands of students live in apartments off Glenn Avenue and Hemlock Drive, so there should be enough buses to accommodate those people without making them wait for another bus or two in order to get to class.
Some students' stops get skipped because the bus that arrives is already full (little repetitive) and they end up just walking to class.
Other routes, including Haley West, Old Row, Webster Road and Wire Road are also reportedly overcrowded.
Although there are problems with the number of buses on the west campus route, Tiger Transit does do a phenomenal job caring for the students' needs on the buses and the drivers are some of the sweetest people I have ever met.
All I ask is to put more buses on the west campus route throughout the entire day.
That would alleviate stress for students getting to and from class, making Auburn a happier place than it already is.
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