Students are complaining about feeling unsafe during the nighttime bus routes, reporting that they have been dropped off at off-campus stops. 

The Wolfline Campus Bus Service at N.C. State ranks safety as their number one priority, according to Kim Paylor, transit manager. Paylor receives and responds to each and every complaint and compliment for the Wolfline. 

“We want to make the negatives as small as possible,” Paylor said.

However, some bus drivers who end their routes off-campus have not been informing students when and where the bus will go out of service despite being required to do so, according to Paylor.

The Southeast Loop, also known as the 8, has a block that ends at Burger King on Avent Ferry Road around 6:30 p.m. Paylor said a particular block of this route has been ending there for years.

“Had the driver made an announcement, students would not be left stranded,” Paylor said.

The Avent Ferry, or 1, bus has a similar dilemma when a particular block ends at the Food Lion on Western Boulevard.

Lorraine Torres, senior in sociology, said she’s had a few terrifying experiences using the Wolfline.

“The Avent Ferry bus left my friend and I stranded at the Food Lion,” Torres said. “I was a freshman at the time, and I had no idea where I was.”

Transportation planner Michael Ousdahl said the transportation office recently finished their 2012 Campus Mobility Plan, which includes provisions for the Wolfline over the next 10 years.  

“We want to make the Wolfline as convenient, accessible and as safe to passengers as we can,” Ousdahl said.

This plan includes improved destinations and route frequencies as well as increased coverage between the “triangle” of Hunt Library, D.H. Hill Library, and a connection to Wolf Village, according to Ousdahl.

Jenna Hunter, a junior in microbiology, said she wishes this improvement would happen as soon as possible. 

“It’s a super-sketchy walk from North Campus to Wolf Village in the dark by yourself,” Hunter said. “Waiting around 30 minutes for a bus, alone in the dark, is not a great alternative.”

Paylor said she attended a driver’s meeting Monday evening and stressed the importance of communication to all of the Wolfline drivers. Communication is needed in order to make the passengers feel safe, according to Paylor.

The feedback form on the NCSU Transportation website is emailed directly to Paylor. She said she wanted students to know that the issues brought up in complaints do not “fall on deaf ears.”

Changes to the Wolfline were implemented in the Fall of 2012 including additions to the nighttime bus schedule, according to Ousdahl. 

“Being one of the best universities in North Carolina, we need to do our best to run a successful transit system,” Ousdahl said.

Paylor and Ousdahl both said that passenger feedback is important to know to improve the Wolfline Campus Bus Service. Ousdahl also said data from bus routes helps him to figure out if routes need to be changed.

“Taking the data and combining it with feedback helps us run a successful system,” Ousdahl said.

Paylor said cameras were recently installed on the buses so that if there’s ever an accident or a dispute between a driver and a passenger, there’s video evidence on record.

Paylor said she encourages passengers to report any problems they have while riding the Wolfline. This includes, but is not limited to: drivers talking on the phone while driving, foul language used by the driver and miscommunication from the driver to the passengers.

“We request 150 percent customer service from our employees,” Paylor said.