Waiting to be picked up by the bus can be irritating, but that may be something Texas Tech students will have to get used to this summer.
Campus bus drivers are taking a blow to their work schedules as the number of buses and the amount of hours they run are being cut back due to rising fuel costs.
Tech pays Citibus approximately $2.2 million each year to have buses available for Tech students, which is determined mostly by fuel costs. So far, unexpected fuel costs have incurred an additional $89,410 this year. That budget will have to be expanded if fuel costs continue to increase.
As the Student Government Association's External Vice President, Austin Pennington has the job of working with Citibus to decide the best plan to deal with rising fuel costs and keeping buses on campus.
"This has become a real nightmare, and I have only been here since April," he said. "Gas has become so volatile, the amount the prices are increasing is just ridiculous. We have never seen it in our lifetime."
So far the budget for the 2008-09 school year has been revised three times in the past two months, Pennington said, which is a result of the constantly increasing fuel prices. He said the administration does not want to raise transportation fees.
Students pay for Citibus through these fees, which start at $1 per enrolled hour per student and fees increase $3.50 for every additional enrolled hour up to 12. All full-time students pay the same amount of $42, whether taking between 12 to 21 hours. The university, however, pays Citibus $50.38 per student, an $8 deficit.
The alternative option to help cut back expenses has cost the bus drivers. The number of buses and the hours they run have dropped significantly. The original contract between Tech and Citibus requires the busses to run for a total of 52,000 hours each academic year.
"Originally when gas prices started going up we negotiated the new contract based on 47,000 hours," Pennington said. "Now we have already had to drop those hours to 45,000."
Pennington and Citibus officials work together closely to remain within budget, said Hoyt Day, the director of Citibus' Texas Tech services. Profit, however, does not motivate Citibus' partnership with Tech.
"This year we're going to have 24 buses running at Tech," Day said. "At one time we have had as many as 30 buses running on campus. We have had to cut back to keep Tech in budget and the main reason is the price of fuel."
Day said he now has fewer hours to divide evenly amongst his staff and has found it difficult to appease all his employees' scheduling needs. With nine buses operating during the summer, there are about one-third of the drivers working, so he said it is easier to manage now but will become more difficult in the fall.
One bus driver who has been working on the Tech campus for two years said she is worried about what could happen to many drivers who are losing hours.
Cheryl Harris and her husband both drive Tech routes, and she expects they will be able to make do with the new cuts because of her dual-income family, but there are many drivers who will not be able to support themselves on the amount of hours they are given.
The campus bus drivers drive only on campus, and Harris said some people may have to resort to driving off campus to gain hours, which would be a major adjustment for them.
"It would be more nerve racking," she said, drawing from her experience. "There is more traffic and you drive at much higher speeds. There are also more people with young kids that ride the bus in Lubbock and more people that require special care. Students are pretty much self reliant, and I really love the kids. Most of them are great, and I really never have any trouble."
Harris said she usually drives eight-hour shifts, but her schedule has been cut back to six hours, and she does not have the option to work more. She said her husband's schedule already has been cut back an hour as well.
Carla Smith has been a bus driver at Tech for 16 months and her husband also is a driver.
Smith said she does not want to have to look for another job and, so far, has no plans to do so. She enjoys working on campus, seeing the students and also - because, by law, the buses do not run when school is not in session - enjoys having the same vacations the students have.
Many of the drivers who work on campus do so because they think working with students is less stressful, Smith said, and those who work on campus would prefer to not be forced to leave.
"The drivers really appreciate the students who are nice and say thank you, it's a great feeling," she said. "I am concerned about the cutbacks for sure. Of course it would be nice to keep the hours and not have to potentially look for more or new work."
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