Northern Star Online: Writer misunderstands how Circle Left runs

I am writing in response to Derek Maple’s letter “Early Huskie Buses present the real problem.”

First, I am not here to argue; just basically here to tell you that you clearly do not know how the Circle Left runs, so here’s some food for thought. There are three Circle Left buses and they each leave the student center 10 minutes apart. The Circle Left buses (Route 4) are given letters to meet their time intervals. For example, the first left bus is the 4A; it leaves the center at :00 and :30 past the hour. The next left bus is the 4C; it leaves the center at :10 and :40 past the hour. Finally, the last left bus is the 4E, which leaves the center at :20 and :50 past the hour.

If the 4A is late and the 4C is directly behind it, that bus cannot pass the 4A; it would cause confusion and throw the left buses out of order because each bus has to meet its time points. In better words, if there are two Circle Left buses, the one behind the one in front is the bus that is on time.

Yes, the first bus is going to be very crowded because of the peak times when students get out of class. So the bus that you were waiting for at DuSable was not early; they never are. It was just late and you specifically stated that is was “OK for me when buses leave late.”

I personally know what to do when the buses are running late. I cannot speak for other drivers. Our supervisors do not work with us to get us back on track, but I wanted to let you know that you can not blame the buses for being late all the time. Things happen. I’m pretty sure that there are other things that are late on campus besides the buses.

Robert Isaiah Hunley
Junior meteorology major and Huskie Bus Line driver