Bus routes across campus are to be changed to incorporate County and Bowland following a Facebook-based petition.
Students of County and Bowland colleges claim that they are treated unfairly and left stranded by the current bus route system, feeling that the bus routes need to be changed to incorporate their houses.
Since the new townhouses at County College were built the buses have stopped going to County and only go as far as the underpass, leaving students who live in County and Bowland residences left to walk the rest of their journey home. The bus routes from Lancaster town centre, which stop off near most other colleges, currently leave out County, one of the biggest colleges on campus, and Bowland, one of the oldest.
The issue, which has been led by LUSU Vice President (Equality, Welfare and Diversity), Torri Crapper, went through the Transport Working Group unanimously and a meeting with the University is said to be scheduled soon to resolve the issue completely. Due to the provisions of the motion proposed, any change would also provide for those university staff who work at the north end of campus and is said to fit with the travel plans of the university to get more people using public transport due to a lack of parking.
When asked what she thought about the issue, Crapper said: “I’m very excited about being able to work with the university and the bus provider to reinstate this route around campus. Student officers both current and past have put a lot of hard work into starting the petition and I’m proud to be able to work with them on this, and have the conversations with the university about the logistics on their behalf. I just hope that students make use of this provision when we get it started so that it is worthwhile continuing in the future for the bus provider.”
Although Crapper has expressly pointed out that the petition in question does not concern the free Sugarhouse buses provided to students at the weekend, and has said that this a discussion for the future which does not currently have a petition to it, there has been some discussion about the Sugarhouse buses by students.
Sam Potts, the creator of the increasingly popular Facebook group dedicated to the cause, said specifically on the free Sugarhouse bus that: “We do appreciate the free bus to campus but for our safety it’s important that Sugarhouse are aware of the vast amount of students who are dropped off away from their houses and left to make their way home.” She continued by saying that “a bus to County and to Bowland would provide students with a safer journey home and it’s important that Sugarhouse realise their responsibility in this matter.”
