10 Questions We All Want To Ask The UNC Transportation

Ah, UNC transportation; can’t live with it, can’t live without it. I asked, you answered. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride as I voice 10 of the questions we all want to ask UNC transportation.

1. How do the buses not destroy everything in their paths?

You know who we’re talking about. Those buses that whip around the sharp corner and come within inches of the cars sitting at the red light, but there’s never an accident. How?? Are bus drivers gods? Extremely lucky? The world may never know…

2. Why don’t they post the temporary bus routes anywhere?

Are we supposed to just know? Do we guess? Do we sit on the bus and just ride a full loop to figure out the closest stop to our dorm? Ah, the struggles of students on a modified bus route could mean having to walk farther from the new bus stop than you would have if you had just walked in the first place.

3. Why is the RR lot so far away?

This makes no sense. What is the point of having your car at school if it’s not within walking distance? If you’re lucky, then you can take a bus but if it’s not running, then you have an hour’s walk or have to collect all of your pennies (because let’s face it, as a college student, even quarters are a luxury) for an Uber ride.

4. Why are weekends so difficult?

It is always good to give our kind workers a break, but on weekends it is so difficult to acquire transportation. Need to get to Franklin from HoJo on a winter weekend? Hope you like the cold, ’cause you’re going to be in it for half an hour or more.

5. Why is it so expensive?

Why are prices so high? I pay $250 a year to have my car 2.3 miles away from me in a lot that sometimes I can’t even get to. Why? The parking decks have price tags of up to $600. Is it really necessary to be that expensive for taking up a single space?

6. How come 3/4 of the student population is gipped?

If you’re not a senior, good luck winning any parking lotteries. Not even juniors have much priority in getting a good parking location. Why? It remains a mystery that only the UNC transportation gods can answer. They remain silent. All is lost.

7. Why is there no preparation for snow days?

There is no way to get around campus, say if you need to get to your car in the RR lot. If you can’t get your car back in the lot because of ice, they tell you that you can pay to have it towed. Apparently, they don’t like to clear parking lots for students until days later. Good luck on your own, but thanks for the money!

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8. Why do driver switch outs take forever?

You know that feeling when you’re running late and really need to be somewhere or you really have to pee and the bus stops, the driver gets out, and you’re abandoned for 10 minutes? Yes, somehow the sacred ritual of bus driver exchange must take at least 10 minutes for the new bus driver’s driving to be outstanding.

9. Why are more people allowed to get on?

We all know the rush hour struggles, but when everyone is packed like sardines, tensions can run high. No one likes being jolted around, smashed into a metal pole, or catapulted into a sick human. Sometimes, though, they don’t stop and whoosh by as you stare into the sparsely populated bus.

10. How can I make my app more accurate?

If you don’t have NextBus, Rider, Transloc, or EZ Chapel Hill Transit, download one. It isn’t a perfect solution, but it semi-works. The only issue I have run into is the timing. I will see the J comes in 22 minutes and thirty seconds later, it is coming in 4. I have yet to figure out if this is a bad app glitch or of the buses are so messed up that the app is wigged out. Either way, best of luck catching a bus on time and not 10 minutes late.