Boston shuttle canceled due to drunk passengers
Christy McCuaig
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
Tufts' Boston Bus Shuttle, which transported students between the Medford/Somerville campus and downtown Boston on weekend nights, was canceled last week after Peter Pan Bus Lines of Boston terminated its contract with the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate for the rest of the year because the company's drivers were uncomfortable with the high incidence of drunk student passengers.
Sophomore Senator C.J. Mourning, chair of the TCU Senate's Services Committee, said the cancellation was bad news for students since the shuttle was so popular that students were sometimes turned away.
"It was very popular, which makes it even more unfortunate that it had to be cancelled," Mourning said.
Both Mourning and Jamie Brown, assistant director of student activities, said the company provided only minimal details as to why it canceled the shuttle, simply saying that its drivers didn't feel safe with the high level of intoxicated students riding the bus.
"They just said that they were uncomfortable carrying intoxicated students," Brown said.
Mourning had a similar response. "I guess they just weren't expecting as many intoxicated students as were on the buses. It was an overall concern," she said.
The shuttle ran for just over a month, from the last weekend in February to the last weekend in March, according to Mourning. It ran Friday and Saturday nights every hour between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Senior and TCU Historian Alex Pryor is confident that the shuttle will return next school year, despite this year's unexpected cancellation.
"I know the Senate's dedicated to it," Pryor said. "We've had it in the past and we have it in our budget. It's unfortunate [the cancellation] happened so late in the year when we couldn't start up again."
She suggested that even if Peter Pan will not resume the shuttle service, other companies might be able to take its place.
"I imagine there are bus companies that will do this," she said. "My guess [is] that we would find another bus company that would be willing."
Sophomore Senator C.J. Mourning, chair of the TCU Senate's Services Committee, said the cancellation was bad news for students since the shuttle was so popular that students were sometimes turned away.
"It was very popular, which makes it even more unfortunate that it had to be cancelled," Mourning said.
Both Mourning and Jamie Brown, assistant director of student activities, said the company provided only minimal details as to why it canceled the shuttle, simply saying that its drivers didn't feel safe with the high level of intoxicated students riding the bus.
"They just said that they were uncomfortable carrying intoxicated students," Brown said.
Mourning had a similar response. "I guess they just weren't expecting as many intoxicated students as were on the buses. It was an overall concern," she said.
The shuttle ran for just over a month, from the last weekend in February to the last weekend in March, according to Mourning. It ran Friday and Saturday nights every hour between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Senior and TCU Historian Alex Pryor is confident that the shuttle will return next school year, despite this year's unexpected cancellation.
"I know the Senate's dedicated to it," Pryor said. "We've had it in the past and we have it in our budget. It's unfortunate [the cancellation] happened so late in the year when we couldn't start up again."
She suggested that even if Peter Pan will not resume the shuttle service, other companies might be able to take its place.
"I imagine there are bus companies that will do this," she said. "My guess [is] that we would find another bus company that would be willing."
Be the first to comment on this story