The Wolfline experienced approximately 14,000 “average weekday boardings” in spring 2011, according to N.C. State’s 2012 Campus Mobility Plan. That’s an incredibly vague term to use on a final report, but regardless, it shows that a whole bunch of people use the Wolfline. If that’s going to continue to be true, the system needs a bit of revamping.
Recently, the University spent upward of $300 millionon Hunt Library and Talley Student Union. These modern structures utilize cutting-edge technology, yet something as functional as a public transportation service seems no more than an afterthought.
If you weren’t sure which stop was yours, you’d have to rely on the bus driver calling out the stop’s name via a crackling intercom. Not only are these audible cues difficult to understand on a crowded bus, but sometimes the driver entirely forgets to give them.
Other times, a Wolfline adviser will be conversing with the driver; and because the intercom doesn’t turn off, this conversation becomes the whole bus’ business. There’s nothing wrong with having a chat on the job, save taking the driver’s mind off the road, but this disturbance can be quite frustrating to those patrons of the bus who are trying to finish their last bit of homework, listening to some sick jams or just plain uninterested in how the driver’s kids are.
Wolfline buses should have a digital board mounted inside to display the name of each stop, as well as an automated recording to verbalize this information. This isn’t even remotely cutting-edge technology—they already have this type of setup at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Speaking of archaic technology, Wolfline drivers have to keep track of each student who enters the bus using a handheld counting device. Sometimes this proves challenging, so they have to stop the flow of traffic so they can keep count. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not blaming them. If I had that many average weekday boardings, I’d have a hard time, too.
Not only is this practice grossly time consuming, but if the data are being used to plan stops or monitor average weekday boardings, they’re incredibly flawed. A counting device dependent on human behavior screams human error. A sensor designed to monitor inflows and outflows would be much more accurate, and the driver would be free to concentrate on the road.
With that said, the bus routes themselves don’t even make sense. Why do I have to go all the way around campus to get from Nelson to Varsity? Circular bus routes are inefficient. I’m sure most of us have witnessed mass hysteria trying to catch the bus at Carmichael. Six of the 11 Wolfline buses stop there, according to the Wolfline Transit Guide’s System Map & Frequencies. This overlap causes incredible amounts of traffic and confusion, yet is advertised as having options. I wouldn’t call having six buses that take me to the gym but only one that takes me home a good thing, unless the people planning these routes are secretly trying to tell us we need exercise.
Instead, the routes should be relatively linear with a bus going in each direction. Then, this kind of unnecessary overlap wouldn’t happen, and the bus from Nelson to Varsity would be much quicker.
Some might argue, “wouldn’t we have to build another bus stop on each side of the road?” Yes, we probably would; however, the entire Wolfline service only costs about $6 million a year, according to the FAQ on its website. Compared to Hunt and Talley, are a couple of new bus stops and digital boards really extravagant expenses?
The inefficiency of the Wolfline dissuades people from using public transportation. Fourteen thousand average weekday boardings sounds like a lot, but the N.C. State Transportation “About Us” webpage boasts that it maintains about 19,000 parking spaces. Think of all the great things we could do with that land, yet we’re stuck with hideous concrete monoliths such as the Dan Allen and Coliseum parking decks. People should want to ride the bus. It’s quick, easy and keeps excess cars off the road. Fewer drivers mean there’s a smaller chance of two inches of snow causing another campus-wide gridlock.
Finally let me say, occasional rivalry jokes aside, I’m not much of a sports fan. Because of this, I’m a bit nitpicky about the “Go Wolfpack” signs on the outside of the buses. This space could be readily available for more useful information such as the route number, route direction or the time. Even so, if it has to say “Go Wolfpack,” shouldn’t this message of camaraderie be emblazoned on a bus we can be proud of?
