Natalie Irula

Opinion Editor

The shuttle service is falling apart…along with the shuttles themselves.

If you’ve ever found yourself taking one, you know exactly what I mean.

These students are composed of those who live at the University Ridge Apartments, the University Apartments or students without cars that need to get places that are a bit farther away from the campus, like the Fine Arts building or even Walmart for groceries.

There are four different shuttles, black, red, silver, and the late-night express.

According to the ESU website, the black shuttle begins at the University Ridge, goes to the Koehler Fieldhouse, then Facilities Management Complex, then Zimbar, then the Recreation Center and finally back to the University Ridge with random stops at the Innovation Center and random stops at Fine Arts and Gwendolyn St after 4:00 pm.

The red shuttle begins at the University Ridge, goes to Sci-Tech, the University Apartments, then Fine Arts, then Gwendolyn St, then back to the University Ridge. Although not specified, the red shuttle also randomly stops at the Innovation Center.

The silver shuttle, perhaps the most frustrating of them all for me, is supposed to go back and forth between the Ridge and Facilities Management.

However, it seems to make all the same stops as the black shuttle.

These buses all seem to have flexible routes and schedules, making it difficult to plan ahead and get to the campus at a certain time.

The late-night express begins at the University Ridge, goes to Gwendolyn St, across from the entrance to C/R40, then to Normal Street at Hemlock Suites, then to Washington Street East Stroudsburg Borough, then Walmart, Giant, and Home Goods, then to7th & Main Stroudsburg Borough at the public bus stop.

This is perhaps the most reliable of all the routes but is frequented by students making late-night grocery trips or safe passage to and from the bars downtown.

In addition to the unreliability of the shuttles, sitting in the back of the bus may throw your back out as the suspension clearly needs some work.

Perhaps the Transportation Department could implement scheduled breaks for the drivers, as it seems they disappear from the app randomly and for indistinguishable amounts of time.

Perhaps the Shuttle Tracker on the ESU Mobile app could accurately display the whereabouts of the shuttles and arrival times..and not crash constantly.

Many students rely on the shuttles to get to class, even ones with cars who are not allowed to park on the main campus until after 3 p.m.

Getting to class, to lunch or just around campus, really shouldn’t be a worry in the minds of students who are focusing on their studies and extracurriculars.

In my humble opinion, the Transportation Department needs to do a desperate revamping of the shuttle service.

But, be sure to still call out a “thank you” to the driver who has to deal with these issues all day (and all night) long.

Email Natalie at:

nirula@live.esu.edu