We need to treat our Link drivers with respect

I thought my morning Link ride last week would be normal until our Link driver grabbed the mic and said, “Can you all hear me?” I thought he was either going to start singing or make an announcement.

Instead, he asked, “Do you all feel safe on the bus on Friday and Saturday nights?” The bus of all Bennies echoed with a big “ehhhhh.” The bus driver asked if we would feel safer if there was somebody on the late-night weekend busses making sure everybody was behaving, to which the answer was a big “YES.” The bus driver explained that he wants us to feel safe which reminded me how much our staff cares about us.

After that, he described how the duties security officers previously did are now put on the Link drivers and RAs. He explained that he has to clean up throw up and deal with drunken behaviors when he drives the weekend shift. One Bennie asked if Link drivers get any of the $300 throw up fine, to which he replied, “not a cent.”

I have not taken the late night weekend Link this year, so I asked some friends what it was like. One of my friends said that he waited for the Link at CSB and it showed up late because the bus driver had to clean up throw up. Another friend told me that she overheard many people complaining about a weekend Link that was late. Somebody else told me that people were obnoxiously standing up in the aisles on the bus he took. Yet another friend said that he saw a Link driver explain to a Johnnie multiple times that he couldn’t get onto the Link because it was full and that the student was fuming.

It is absolutely appalling that our Link drivers are treated with such indecency and that all these additional responsibilities are pushed onto them. The Link drivers are already overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. They should not be dealing with these extra jobs and the inconsiderate drunk students that distract them from their main goal which is getting us where we need to be safely.

Our campus simply could not function without our Link drivers. They are some of the most compassionate and dedicated people; just take some time to talk with them and you will find this out very quickly. We students must start to treat our Link drivers as fellow human beings. Please leave your disgusting drunk behaviors at the bar, apartment, or at worst, on the sidewalk.

Administration should financially compensate Link drivers for their efforts and reinstate weekend security officers to alleviate the drivers of these extra duties and make sure everyone feels comfortable on the busses. One of the first things you learn in elementary school is how to respect your bus drivers; we are in college, so I hope we already know how to do this—start showing it.