Aggie shuttles fill up fast
During prime class times, the Aggie shuttles are filled to their maximum capacity of rushing students.
“We want to get as many people to wherever they need to go in the quickest time possible,” said Alden Erickson, supervisor of Aggie Shuttles.
People are not allowed to pass the white line at the front of the bus and are not allowed to be in the wheel wells, he said.
The shuttles transport nearly 7,500 people every day. Each 32-foot bus can carry about 57 people, and each 40-foot bus carries about 65 to 70 people.
The problem is “everybody wants to go at the same time,” Erickson said. “If students plan ahead, they won’t have a crowded bus to ride on.”
“If there are more people on the shuttle, I drive more defensively,” driver Travis McNiven said. “[Drivers] are required to attend training meeting once a month.”
Things are a little different during normal winter months.
“We stop running buses for about an hour when the roads are icy to let the plows clear the roads,” he said.
When conditions are wet outside and buses are full, their windows are likely to fog up.
Erickson said, “Drivers open windows and turn on fans and blowers to get rid of the fog on the windows.”
Shawn Heiniger, a junior majoring in pre-psychology, said, “When people are standing, it’s a hazard.”
Brett Wilkinson, a senior majoring in psychology, thinks the shuttles are safe.
“As long as the bus driver can see, I think the shuttle is safe,” he said.
Erickson said there have been no injuries since he became supervisor in 1994.
“The only problem we had was last year when we packed students over the white line, and it caused mechanical problems on the bus,” he said.
If students would like to contact Erickson, he said he would be happy to talk to them. Contact him by phone at 797-3470 or e-mail him at alden@cc.usu.edu.
–lindseyp@cc.usu.edu