She has had to stand a few
times. She says when it’s too
full, it’s a hassle. And it’s usually
like that in the morning.
She comes from Langhorne
and that’s pretty far. But taking
the Septa 130 bus is beneficial
to her because she saves
money.
“Buying bus tokens saves
me money. Bucks helps with
transportation. It gets me the
tokens,” said Amber Gushue,
an education major.
The college buys the tokens
in bulk at Septa and there are
1,000 tokens per batch, said
Director of Student Life Matt
Cipriano.
“We sell them at face value,
$1.45 per token. Students can
buy up to a 10-pack. On the
bus, it’s $2. The only spot to
purchase tokens is here,” says
Cipriano.
If any students are looking
at buying tokens, they are
cheaper at the Student Life
center.
Amanda Webb, an education
major, said the ride itself
wasn’t bad and it wasn’t too
costly.
Jamie Emmons, also an education
major, takes the bus
Monday, Wednesday and
Fridays. She says she doesn’t
think it’s too bad, but she
wishes she had her license.
“I hate having to sit around
waiting for the bus to go
home on Fridays. I don’t
mind the ride and the people
because no one talks, unless
they’re friends,” said
Emmons.
Emmons has no other way
to get to school. She takes the
7:15 a.m. and the 5:15 p.m.
bus. She said there are only
about 10 people in the morning,
so it’s not too crowded.
The Septa bus runs about
every hour, and the number
of students on the bus varies
according to the time of day.
“In the early morning there
are between eight and 10 students.
In the evening there
are between four and six.
Around 6 p.m. there are
around 12 people, said Willie
Newton, a Septa bus operator.
“I think it’s great. I want to
do anything to save our students
money. If anything it’s
a way for them to get to
school. When I’m out there I
see the bus unload a lot of
students, but I would like to
see more students take
advantage of Septa,” said
Cipriano.
But Christina Griffin, 20, an
early childhood education
major, has a problem with
having all those students on
the bus.
“The bus is usually full.
People have to stand. The
1:15 bus is usually crowded,”
said Griffin.
The number of students
who ride the bus has gone up,
but many students could be
having a problem actually
taking the bus.
Bucks President James
Linksz said the real problem
is the schedule of the bus, the
distance, and the route Septa
has selected.
“We try to encourage students
to use it. It’s neat we
have it. It’s not like everyone
is here at the same time.
Every student is different. It’s
sometimes hard on our students.
We thought it would
help. We hope some students
still can find it useful,” says
Linksz.
Linksz said the bus could
never be used only for Bucks
because then Septa would be
losing money. They added
the route to Bucks to provide
access to the college for students.
The new feature this year
has been the alcove students
can stand under. It was built
so students wouldn’t have to
stand in the rain.
“It was provided at little
cost to try and make it comfortable
for students to wait
for the bus,” said Linksz.
“I love my truck too much
to take the bus,” said Rem
Trolli, a 19-year-old accounting
major. “The only way I
would take the bus is if gas
gets as high as it did in the
summer. The Newtown bus is
a hassle because you have to
transfer buses.”
Some students say they
wouldn’t take the bus
because you have to switch
buses and it takes too long to
get to school.
“That might be my last
resort to take the bus. A
friend of mine who lives near
me said it took him two hours
to get to here taking the bus.
He had to switch buses and
by the time he got to the other
station he had to wait another
hour until that bus returned
to get to school,” said
Stephanie Margerum, a 19-
year-old elementary education
major. “Other people I
know are getting here later
because the buses are running
late.”
“What stunk about the bus
was that if I wanted to make
sure I got to my 11 a.m. class
on time I would have to leave
my house by about 8 a.m.,
which became tiresome,” said
Webb.
“I’m not sure how else to
encourage students to take it.
There have been signs around
the campus. We hope it gets
used,” said Linksz.
Just because some students
have issues with the buses
doesn’t mean other students
shouldn’t give them a try if
they are looking to save on
gas money. Since this service
is provided by the school,
students should take advantage
of it.
If you would like more
information, the Student Life
center is open Monday
through Friday 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m.