It was 6:34 a.m. Sept. 4. My father had just dropped me off at the UTRGV Harlingen campus. Other people and I were waiting for the 6:50 a.m. shuttle to Brownsville.
6:50 a.m. rolls in and no shuttle. Ten minutes later, still no shuttle. Everyone was getting antsy. A lady who works for Parking and Transportation Services called the office to see what was keeping the shuttle. She told us a bus is on its way, but there was only one seat available. A few minutes later, people started to leave. I could not leave easily, because my parents work and I was too shy to ask for a ride.
I checked my phone, 7:05 a.m. I was getting upset and worried. I had work at 8 a.m. and I called my father. Luckily, he was able to take me to Brownsville. My father picked me up at 7:16 a.m. and I got to Brownsville at 8:50 a.m. because of traffic.
I am not the only one, obviously, who has gone through these problems. On Sept. 20, The Rider reported that a concerned student informed the SGA that Rio Grande City students lack transportation to get to campus. This is completely unfair to them. You would think Parking and Transportation Services would have created some system to give every student the ability to travel to all UTRGV campuses.
The afternoon is not any better.
There is no exact time when the shuttles–Brownsville to Harlingen–will arrive. It’s usually an eight to 20 or 30-minute wait after the charter bus leaves from Brownsville to Edinburg. The website does not have the times posted either.
The Rider reported on Sept. 4 that 4.89 percent of our student services fee goes toward shuttle services. Many who use this service either can’t drive to school or work.
However, with the seemingly endless issues with transportation, how can we trust something that is not reliable?
