The University of Torontos tricampus model fosters greater course selection, the ability to educate more students, and the fuzzy feeling of superiority from having multiple campuses across the GTA. There is, however, one downside — if downtown students were to commute to UTM by TTC and Mississauga transit, they would have to leave home at least two hours before classes began. Thats why, with such a sprawling community, UTM must have a reliable transportation system in place.
Enter our equally loved and hated shuttle bus service, about which an anonymous student once commented: Overall its just a school bus ride, but my friends sometimes complain that the buses dont arrive on time and then sometimes show up two at a time. I also wish they ran more during the summer, or weekends. This patron could easily be speaking for most of us.
There is no disputing however, that the shuttle buses linking UTM to St. George allow for a fairly fast, direct, and environmentally sound travel between the campuses. As winter hails upon us and public transit becomes more difficult, its only fair that we come to appreciate the shuttle buses for what they provide, and accept them despite what they dont.
It is worthy to note that the University does not own the buses — despite their tricked-out appearance — or even hire the drivers; all are provided by a third-party company. While the majority of departures occur during the weekdays, as of last year the shuttle bus service has initiated two departures on Saturday for the purpose of students attending weekend classes.
Other improvements to the service can be expected in the not-toodistant future. As per a new proposal, by Fall 2009 the number of daytime departures would increase from twenty-three to thirty-six, while the number of evening departures would increase from five to nine. The University also plans to increase the number of buses to five.
The bus schedules are of course influenced by the weather, both physical (snowstorms) and political (strikes). In the first case, schedule changes would become available at the service web site (www.utm.utoronto.ca/shuttle). In the second case, the buses would continue to operate as per the current schedule, with only the drop off points changing. This would also be advertised through the service website. One bus driver said she had no complaints with how the bus service operated or how the students behaved.
Asked if she ever experienced nervousness over the weather, she replied, You dont get nervous; you cant get nervous. You just have to do it, like the TTC, every day. My first day was tough. The driving was different. The turns were different. And you have forty people in the back.
Now, if only we could fit in another forty.
I know this is from 2009, but since this is MY 1st year as a shuttle bus driver (I have been driving proffessionally for over 10 years and have been with the independant contractor the UTM uses for their shuttle for about 3 years) – I would like to address some of these concerns JUST IN CASE they are still issues.
1.the web site DOES say that the buses can be 5min either way (meaning we have a 5min window BEFORE and AFTER the leave time to pick up) – sometimes we are coming from downtown and traffic makes us late to get back for the next run.
2.2 at a time was requested by the University. It is an OVERLOAD bus. At the Miss site we can have one bus at each end (North and south) but downtown, if both are NOT needed, one of us can go back empty and that is sort of a little “break” for the driver as she can stop for a coffee or anything before she has to pick up again
3. as for the speeding, please get the driver’s name OR time/date of departure and the office can figure out their name. We try our best daily to get our passengers to the other end SAFELY and on time, but mostly SAFELY. Please let someone know if you have a complaint (or GOOD REPORT) about a driver as we need to make sure things don’t “festure” when people have a complaint. (this goes for cleanliness too) – and if you are TRULY SCARED to ride with a certain driver, then DON’T! It’s really that simple! :o)