Tuesday, September 11, 2007
A KU On Wheels bus driver stopped just before she turned north at 12th and Louisiana Streets and stepped out of her new, 40-foot long bus. A man had just parked his Hummer H-2 along the side of the street. She told him to move forward or she’d hit his car when she turned.
The driver avoided that collision, but accidents involving KU buses have been on the rise because new buses introduced in July are five feet longer than the old models, making them harder to turn.
Since the Transit Commission, the governing body for KU on Wheels, switched its buses to a new design this summer, there have been eight accidents, according to the KU Public Safety Office. Last year during the same time period, no buses crashed. In 2005, only two buses crashed according to the KU Public Safety Office.
The 40-foot-length of the new buses makes them harder to turn and is one of the reasons drivers are having trouble adjusting, said a bus driver who asked to remain anonymous because of company rules.
May Davis, transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels, said they have 40-foot buses now because the company they buy them from could only provide buses of that size.
According to Andrew Oleen, a Dwight sophomore who rides the bus nearly every day, the longer length provides such a risk that drivers will usually wait for cars to pass or slow down to a near stop to avoid parked cars during turns.
“If they’re turning and there’s another vehicle, there’s no way they could do it,” Oleen said.
Slowing down for other cars causes the buses to run late, the driver said. But Davis said buses are starting to arrive on time more often. She attributed the time and accident problems to the extra traffic that comes with the start of school.
The new buses are here because Student Senate voted to increase transportation fees by $20 each semester. Students now pay $36 total each semester.. Regardless of the early problems, Davis said she was glad the vote passed, because the University needed new buses. She said the old ones caused too much pollution and had trouble driving up hills.
“It wasn’t a good look for KU,” Davis said. “It was one of the first things you’d see and not a good depiction.”
KU on Wheels has 28 buses now, and Davis said more were on the way. She said the accidents and slower route times wouldn’t be a permanent problem.
“The first few days are always rough,” Davis said. “There’s a learning curve for every job, but when you drive a bus, people notice.”
— Edited by Elizabeth Cattell
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Comments
Five feet makes a big difference
"The new KU on Wheels buses are 40 feet longer than the old buses. The five-foot difference has caused eight accidents and many delays as bus drivers adjust to the new buses."
75 foot long buses. sweet.
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