In the fall of 2010, approximately 25 percent of all students enrolled at the University were enrolled in the College of Engineering.

The majority of College of Engineering courses are taught on Centennial campus, where students don’t typically live. Therefore, most students taking engineering courses have to take the bus from Central to Centennial Campus.

The buses running from Central Campus to Centennial Campus are often overcrowded during peak hours, leaving students behind simply because there isn’t enough space for them to safely ride the bus.

According to Christine Klein, public communication specialist for the University Transportation Department, this overcrowding is one reason why Centennial Campus is on the Transportation Department’s planning radar.

 ”Last year we talked with the Engineering Council about the bus routes and have made contact with them again last week,” Klein said.  “We’re going to be talking with them soon.”

The Engineering Council has asked the Transportation department if it is possible to change the Wolfline Route 3 – the engineering bus route.

“They asked if we really need the buses to go down Stinson Drive and around the way they currently do,” Klein said. “They also asked if it is possible to shorten the current loop and possibly send the buses down Dunn Avenue.”

According to Klein, at this point, nothing has been changed or is in the process of being changed. 

“I don’t know how the transit people feel about this,” Klein said.

So far, student opinions on the subject are mixed.

Some engineering students, like Rhonda Lemon, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said they believe the buses from Central Campus to Centennial Campus are a huge problem.

“There is hardly ever a time I get on the bus and it’s not packed,” Lemon said. “They do increase the number of buses on the route during the middle of the afternoon/day, but it’s still rough sometimes.”

Lemon said she thinks additional buses or buses with a larger capacity should be considered by the Transportation Department.

“I personally think they need to be using the bigger buses, but I know if they did that, they couldn’t stop at Harrelson or SAS anymore because they wouldn’t be able to get through the narrow roads,” Lemon said.  “A stop at the library and the coliseum deck would compensate for that though.”

However, Katie Basinger, a sophomore in industrial engineering, said she doesn’t generally see the buses as crowded. 

“This semester the times I take the bus which is around 10 a.m. it’s never crowded. However, there were times I had to watch a bus pass by me a couple of times because it was full,” Basinger said.

Basinger said she has found different places on campus where the Engineering bus typically isn’t crowded.

“I have found that if you pick it up at the right places such as Harrelson or by SAS you have the best chance of getting on.  It gets annoying when you have to pick up by the gym because it usually fills up fast,” Basinger said.  “Another bus at lunch time would be great though because I am pretty sure that would help with the overcrowding.”

In the mean time, Klein said she feels as though students don’t always use the options they have, since Route 8, the southeast loop; and 8A, mid day textiles, both serve students who are moving from Central Campus to Centennial Campus.

“It’s a little bit farther to walk, because it Route 8 and 8A don’t go down through the oval on Oval Drive like Route 3 does,” Klein said.