Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Many students recognize the roomy, brightly painted blue buses on campus as the TriCo vans, which shuttle students to and from Swarthmore on their way to Bryn Mawr or Haverford. But as students who use the service have noticed, its schedule is less than ideal for students who take morning classes at Swarthmore before catching a ride.
That is about to change, if only slightly. In response to an email sent by the Daily Gazette to Steve Green, director of Bryn Mawr Transportation, the 10:20 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. shuttle departure times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, which lined up exactly with class dismissal times, have been pushed back five minutes to 10:25 a.m. and 11:25 a.m., respectively.
Before this change, students would have to walk out of class early or risk missing the van on any day of the week. However, Tuesdays and Thursday shuttles will maintain their previous schedule, which includes a 11:10 a.m. departure—right when 9:55 a.m. classes let out.
A TriCo van driver, asked about the 11:10 time conflict, suggested that some leeway is always available in the schedule. Stipulations like “Arrive Swarthmore 7:00 a.m., leave Swarthmore 7:00 a.m.” can’t be taken literally, he said.
Green explains that the schedule adjustment, which is in a trial run this week, may or may not be adopted in the future.
Feature image courtesy of Joshua Peck ’13.
My experience with the van in the AM and early PM is that it leaves from Parrish Circle EXACTLY on time and arrives ahead of schedule at Haverford or Bryn Mawr, so I REALLY don’t understand why they can’t also push the T/Th time of departure…
Senior,
I think you’re right to question the schedule. There’s obviously a lot that BM Transportation has to take into account, but it’s surprising that they haven’t ironed out all of these basic conflicts. In the next couple of weeks, the Gazette will be conducting an investigation of the schedule-making process.
By the end of it, either we’ll all have an improved schedule, or we’ll find out what’s maintaining the conflict.
Andrew Karas
News Editor