“Can I see your student ID?”
“Uhh, I don’t have it on me right now, come on man.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you ride without a student ID.”
With his finger within inches of the bus driver’s face, the unwanted passenger uttered “faggot” before collecting the entirety of the saliva in his mouth and spewing it across the bus’ windshield.
Telling this story with a look of humor, Glenell Jaquez ranks this as one of the most memorable moments of his career as an Off Campus College Transport (OCCT) bus driver. Now the public relations director for OCCT, Jaquez has collected a vast inventory of stories from his time both driving the bus and training drivers.
Bus drivers must take part in a five-week training program that includes not only earning a class B license, but attending four weekly sessions, totaling 10 hours, that prepare bus drivers for their interactions with passengers. Drivers are taught a set of guidelines and rules to follow, but are open to interpret and employ them in whichever way they see most fit. As supervisor to OCCT’s 96 bus drivers, Jaquez can attest to the array of personalities of the bus drivers and their approaches to handling the rowdy late-night crowds or removing an undesirable rider.
While there is so much more to the job than those infrequent confrontations, the bus drivers can be seen as the backbone of student life at Binghamton University. Whether it be transportation to the bars, back home at the end of the day or to the outermost stretches of campus, the buses bring students anywhere they need to go. Without the blue buses and the campus shuttle, students would be exhausted from walking everywhere, forced to budget time they don’t have in order to just get around, crowded onto the BC Transit buses and become even poorer from consistently paying for cabs.
Above all, the service is completely free. Granted, the program is funded by a part of our student fees; it is still much cheaper than what we would be paying if we were charged for each swipe, like a bus pass. The hundreds of swipes I have personally done probably far surpass the entirety of my student fee, not just the portion given to OCCT.
I could go on and on about the benefits of OCCT. However, like anything, there are the occasional issues with the program. Jaquez is in charge of fielding all of the questions, comments and complaints that they receive through social media, email and phone calls. He specifically made a point to say that he wants people to reach out even more, stating, “If nobody’s complaining, I just have to assume everything is working fine.” It’s important to remember that bus drivers are humans too and may need a quick bathroom break and traffic is out of anyone’s control. Still, greater communication between the student body and OCCT can eventually remedy any issues passengers may have.
Despite all of this, people often judge the pane of glass behind the bus driver’s seat as a metaphorical separation. It’s easy to forget that the person behind the wheel is a student here too and has to balance the same stresses as you, on top of driving the bus.
I make a point to thank each and every driver when I’m walking off, a small yet powerful gesture that I believe everyone should do. After all, studies prove that expressing gratitude can improve emotional well-being and reduce the effects of depression. While they are getting paid to be there, the bus drivers are still spending their time and effort to provide BU with one of its most valuable programs. They are keeping you warm in the cold, dry in the rain and making sure that you get home safe after a night out.
Savanna Vidal is a sophomore majoring in biology.