I was walking to class the other day, and I noticed a ton of people piling on to a stinger bus and I thought to myself, "why would anyone want to ride the bus on campus?" I have not taken a Stinger bus since I was a freshman because it simply is not convenient. It is always either late or going the opposite way that you want to go. When I first came to Tech, I would ride the bus once in a while because I lived on west campus and it took a while to walk from west campus to my classes.

After a couple of months of being at Tech I realized that it is simply easier and quicker to walk to class than to ride the bus because I can get to anywhere on campus in 10 to 15 minutes on foot. In a city like Atlanta and all of its transportation issues, it is not a surprise that we have issues here, but there is no excuse not to do anything about it.

We can take steps to make the Stinger more reliable and more useful for getting to class, including making a schedule and keeping to it and increasing the Stinger's coverage.

Tech has done some things in recent years to deal with the Stinger problems. They have added routes going both ways to alleviate the trouble of having to ride all the way around campus to get to your destination. This seems like a good idea and could work, but not if more busses aren't added. Otherwise, this plan takes away from other routes, making the bus stops less frequent than they already are for people waiting.

They have also supposedly tried to implement a schedule for the Stinger service, but I have not seen it posted at any Stinger stop and the Stinger doesn't seem to come by at a regular rate. These are the two main problems with the Stinger bus service: coverage and reliability.

Currently all of the Stinger routes run around the perimeter of campus, avoiding entering the center of campus, where all of the academic buildings are. A good example of this is Atlantic street. Many of Tech's academic buildings are along this street, and the Stinger bus does not go by them in a regular loop. In order to provide services that most students want, the Stinger should make getting them to class a first priority and having the main loop pass by academic buildings is a good way to do this.

Another problem area with the main bus loops is that they bypass "the Hill" and go around the stadium, where not many students need to go. I know that Bobby Dodd and Cherry streets are both "pedestrian only" streets, but they still are just that, "streets." Walking up the Hill and on Cherry street you wouldn't think it was a pedestrian only street with all of the cars and delivery vehicles that are along it all of the time.

I have seen in Europe and many American cities where busses are allowed to run along "pedestrian streets" it seems to work well and get the "pedestrians" into town. Allowing the Stinger bus to climb "the Hill" would be worthwhile for the bus. It would take less time to get around campus and at the same time get students to where they need to be: in class, not on the back side of the stadium.

When planning for the future, I would suggest that Tech think about adding routes off-campus to some of the new developing areas that are springing up around the downtown area, including Atlantic station, Virginia highlands and many other areas.

This would allow students to get out more and have a good time on the weekends. With news of a movie theatre, a Wal-Mart and other things that students need, Tech can't go wrong adding a route to Atlantic Station. Having routes to other off-campus locations like clubbing areas and local eateries could also work if done well.

One thing I've found, from being in Europe all summer long is that public transportation can work, and it can work well. They set schedules and stick to them, if the bus says it is going to be there at 7:03 AM, then you'd better be there at 7:03 AM, or you are gonna miss your bus.

If we could set up a schedule and have our drivers stick to it, we'd have something that is actually usable for those of us who like to get to class on time and not have to arrive really early. A schedule designed with class start times in mind would allow students to leave their dorms or cars at a regular time and get to class on time. The way it is now, it is impossible to have a regular schedule before getting to class. Times in between busses can range from one minute to 20-30 minutes, which is not reliable enough to count on.

Tech has done a good job in listening to the students and attempting to remedy the Stinger problems, but they have invested too little and not put enough into implementation. With a good schedule and a more routes near classroom buildings, the Stinger can be something that students will want to use instead of something they use if it happens to be there when walking out of their building.