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The Battalion
Page 3 • Monday, September 16, 2002
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Campus bus drivers share what ifs like to be
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I lo vote and; Paiallel parking a bus has become second nature for senior
democratic f ithropology major Jennifer Corley. In fact, Corley confesses she
d. in parallel park a bus better than she can her own car.
orps of Cadet Cprley has been employed with Bus Operations, the campus
halls are in; ansportation system for five years. Since its beginning in 1982,
get more stud us Operations has relied on students to drive the buses through
By Lyndsey Sage
THE BATTALION
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Corley said that although she was “scared to death” to drive her
rstffoute, driving a bus has now become “as easy as snapping”
* r ^ 1 •
Corley said bus drivers undergo vigorous training that prepares
^ . tern to handle the difficulties of maneuvering a bus.
^ Assistant Director of Bus Operations Gary Jackson said the
' /y tudints’Viriving records are monitored before they are even con-
tdeied to be a bus driver.
He said having less than two citations indicates that the student
as a decent driving history.
fflpnce their driving records have been reviewed, applicants go
^Hgh the interviewing process to be hired. Then, before the
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lits from the Department of Public Safety [DPS] to drive the
•uses. Jackson said they must take five tests to get their learners'
•ermits.
“It is a computer test that we give them a book to study for.
)nce they pass the test, we put them through about 20 to 25 hours
vorth of academics,” he said.
After the classroom training, the students are allowed in the dri-
'er’i seat. This section of the training consists of about 20 to 25
lours of hands-on experience.
“After they go through the driving part, we take them down to
he DPS office so they can take the test to obtain their license,”
lackson said. “About 97 to 98 percent of students pass the first
ime. In my five years here, it has only taken one student three
imes to pass the test, everyone else has passed by the second
time.”
Bus Operations currently employs approximately 400 students
Saturday ; r to operate a fleet of 80 buses, Jackson said.
i t the iaepec Daryl Pratho, a senior history major, said he felt prepared when
fore certain. he first sat behind the wheel last January.
I he I'lWi*/ 1 “[Bus Operations] does an excellent job in training,” Pratho
d an) c.' .aid. “It covers all aspects of what we might find, different situa-
•nt Bush. - ions that might happen, what to do in case of an emergency.”
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However, he admits that there is still “a lot of learning involved
after you start driving routes.”
Bus accidents, Jackson said, especially major ones, are rare but
do occur.
“Historically, we have a rash of little ones at the beginning of
the semester. Even though the drivers are trained very well, it takes
time getting used to having a bus full of people. There are about
four to five accidents for every 100,000 miles,” Jackson said.
Both Pratho and Corley acknowledge that driving buses offers a
lot of benefits, such as the camaraderie among drivers and the
handsome paychecks.
Corley describes the atmosphere of Bus Operations as a “great
community.”
“A lot of my friends from college, I’ve meet at Bus Ops,” she
said.
Pratho said being a part of Bus Operations has given him the
sense of being connected to a “big extended family.”
Corley said driving buses has also presented her with amazing
opportunities.
“I’ve met George and Barbara Bush twice,” Corely said. “I was
driving people that were going to have dinner with him. When I
opened the bus doors, he was standing there waiting to meet and
greet.
“Since I've been here so long. I’ve gotten to drive for a lot of
important people, including the Board of Regents.”
Pratho said being in an atmosphere of students is one of his
biggest perks. He said interaction with passengers makes the shift
go by faster.
However, working in an environment with students can have its
drawbacks.
“Sometimes people yell at you because the bus system does not
always flow perfectly,” Corley said. "They don’t realize that it isn't
the bus drivers’ fault and that we can't do anything to change the
bus system. When they are 30 minutes late for class it doesn’t mat
ter what we tell them, they just want to yell at someone.”
Pratho said traffic irritates him the most when he is driving his
route.
“There are some people that don't need to be driving or people
that don't carpool. Then there are people that are driving on cam
pus and just stop to pick someone up or wait to try to find the best
parking spot so then you have to wait on them,” Pratho said.
In addition to driving regular three to four-hour routes during
the week, students are given the option to drive for other events,
primarily charters.
“Some of my most interesting experiences have come when I
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AI.JSSA HOI.UMAX ♦ THE BATTALION
Senior management information systems major J.T. Albert inspects the bus
tires before he goes on route.
have driven in downtown Houston or Austin,” Corley said. “The
streets are about a foot wider than the bus and people on the bus
start to panic because they don’t think I can make it; it’s really
funny.”
Another experience I had when driving a charter was when I
had to go offroading in the bus. The only way to turn around was
to drive through a field.”
While the experiences of driving a bus can be unpredictable,
Pratho said one thing is certain.
“It takes a lot of patience to be a bus driver.”
Cosmo - Fashion magazine with informative articles
Costive - Affected with constipation
Cossack - ofTurkish origin
Costard - Large English cooking apples
COSGA - SGA Committee hosting largest nationwide
student-run leadership conference.
Applications for fall committee are available at the SGA office in Koldus.
Visit our website http://cosga.tamu.edu for more information
about the conference and committee.
Applications are due Tuesday, September 17 by 5 pm.
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7pm-10pnt
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lOpm-lam
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mxLmsk
Biol, Chem. Econ, Info,
Math, Mgmt, Mktg
Chem 227
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Mon Sept 16
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Tue Sept 17
8pm-l 1pm
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Sun Sept 15
5pm-7pm
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Mon Sept 16
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Check our web page at http://www.4.0andGoxom or call 696-8886(TUTOR