Despite conflicting information, the Off Campus College Transport (OCCT) buses will continue to run on their normal schedules.

On Feb. 22, Binghamton University sent out a B-Line News Addition stating that the increasing COVID-19 positivity rate had urged them to close or limit several campus resources, including OCCT buses. The OCCT buses typically run at 15-minute intervals and make stops in Downtown Binghamton and along Vestal Parkway. According to the B-Line, the hours of the OCCT buses would be heavily reduced, and they would only run during class hours.

However, this announcement caused some confusion throughout campus after a screenshot of an email from the OCCT director was posted on Reddit stating that the buses would run on their normal schedule unless the University hits the 5 percent positivity threshold.

Despite the statement made in the B-Line News Addition, Mack Conan, public relations coordinator of OCCT, emphasized that the OCCT schedule had not changed.

“Our schedule has not changed since the beginning of the semester, and everything is posted on our website,” Conan said. “We had two days of ‘Welcome Back Week’ service on Feb. 9 and 10 and then began our spring 2021 service and have not changed it since. Similar to the change in October, if the University reaches the 5 percent threshold, we will be changing to reduced service. The reduced service schedule will very closely resemble a weekend schedule.”

On the weekend, the buses run less frequently. Every 45 minutes, a bus to Riviera Ridge-Town Square Mall and the West Side Outbound and Downtown Center Leroy bus lines leave the University Union. Every hour a bus to the Oakdale Mall leaves the University Union. Weekday and weekend bus schedules can be found on the OCCT website.

In the case that the University hits the threshold and is forced to go online, students employed by OCCT will be adequately represented, according to Jacob Eckhaus, vice president for finance (VPF) of the Student Association (SA) and a senior majoring in accounting.

“We have student driver representatives on our Board of Directors to ensure the student driver voice is heard in our decision-making process,” Eckhaus said. “The specific impact will be different for different drivers, but we are committed to supporting our student drivers in any situation.”

Jessica O’Keefe, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, expressed her confusion as to why the University announced otherwise.

“Honestly, I am confused,” O’Keefe said. “I saw [the Feb. 22 B-Line News Addition] and thought that the buses were not running anymore, but now I’m seeing that they are running like they usually do. I do not know what is going on, but I really like taking the buses because I do not have a car on campus, so it is really my only option if I want to leave campus. Especially now, campus gets so boring and sometimes a trip to Target is what I need.”

In addition to announcing a limited OCCT schedule, the Feb. 22 B-Line also announced the closure or limitation of other on-campus resources, including the closure of the College-in-the-Woods Dining Center. The University announced that the College-in-the-Woods Dining Center will be closed until further notice, as it is being used to prepare meals for students in quarantine and isolation housing. Samantha DeProspo, a sophomore majoring in political science, said she is inconvenienced by this and relies on OCCT buses for food.

“I’m a vegetarian, and I often take the bus to buy groceries,” DeProspo said. “The school already closed the only dining hall with a vegan station, and there is not much that I can eat in the other dining halls or in the Marketplace. I’m worried about how I can get off campus if [the University] cut the bus hours. It is really difficult to get an Uber right now, so I really do not know what I would do.”