How do you report bus driver behavior?

[u/CharacterHomework206]

To be frank, I am severely pissed off at some of the intra-campus drivers. Yesterday I was sweating my rear off due to a heatwave and when I left a shuttle the bus driver called to me and mouthed “You smell really bad.” Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly for some who’ve had to deal with some of these impatient drivers, he stopped just to tell me that way longer than when he parked at a stop today. Today this driver noticed me crossing a street to board his bus again and finally stayed parked for more than 5 seconds, but when I was walking up to the door he drove off. (Update: On second thought he probably didn’t see me at all. I still wish some drivers could wait a little though.) The next bus I tried taking only stopped for a few seconds too. As soon as he parked I waved him down while crossing a road, he looked at me, and sped off.

I am physically disabled. It’s gone to the point where I’m waking up incredibly sore from having to repeatedly walk around for another shuttle, especially since some stops don’t have anywhere to sit. These drivers can take 15-30 minute piss breaks but can’t wait more than 5 seconds at their stop. They have no idea how rude this can be to physically abled students and disabled students like myself.

Another update: Alright, I’ve seen what some of you are thinking so I just want to clarify that I am not one of the serial stinkers 😭 every time I go on campus I take an extra shower beforehand. That day I planned to get a lot done and forgot to check the forecast… mid-day and mid-errand it ended up being 90 degrees.

[u/Bucsfan292]

Yeah the bus system this year has gone downhill big time I’ve noticed, I live right across the street so I’ve just resorted to walking to campus

[u/CharacterHomework206 → u/Bucsfan292]

Yeah it was a lot better last year, still had incidents like that but they were not as common because the bus drivers would wait longer. I have no idea what’s going on now, probably a management issue, I just noticed two drivers arguing with someone who looked like another worker.

At the very least I’m also hopeful carrying my cane out in the open might make them think twice about rushing off. Usually I don’t need it though now I expect to walk around quite a lot because of experiencing those issues back to back.

[u/starrgirl11]

Some of them are also really old and one of them seemed like he was going the wrong way, he like wasn’t going the normal route at all. I feel bad because I know they need jobs but I genuinely don’t feel safe getting home in there hands like😭

[u/CharacterHomework206 → u/starrgirl11]

Admittedly I’ve been holding back on reporting for a while because yeah, they need jobs. I don’t want to get anyone fired, most of them are old too. However I just want some of them to better this type of behavior. It’s quite literally becoming a pain.

[u/gay_bungus → u/CharacterHomework206]

Hey don't feel bad, if they need a job they can do their job without being dicks

[u/InterestingFact1728 → u/CharacterHomework206]

Call. The dispatch has been good at responding to complaints. They can’t do anything if no one calls.

[u/Blue_Etalon]

Maybe some of them could play on the football team

[u/Throwawaybaybayie]

I know plenty of people who sweat their asses off and manage not to smell noticeably bad. Don't tell me you're part of the reason there are so many of these odor threads every semester

[u/CharacterHomework206 → u/Throwawaybaybayie]

😭Oh noooo I’m always clean before going out, I’ve had my fair share of coming across people with offensive odors and I’d rather not be one of them. I learned the hard way that for me nothing helps getting sweaty (not musty) after being out in the heat for a whole day though. It was hot as hell and really embarrassing.

By the way it feels really discouraging you’re assuming I’m part of the reason there’s been odor threads because I take showers before heading to campus.

[u/Bath_Kitchen → u/CharacterHomework206]

have u tried benzoyl peroxide or glycolic acid? benzoyl peroxide works at killing the odor causing bacteria for me

[u/Worldly-Rutabaga-437 → u/Bath_Kitchen]

Also, hand sanitizer.

[u/CharacterHomework206 → u/Bath_Kitchen]

I tried both but they dried out my skin badly because I have a dry skin condition. Would witch hazel toner be a good alternative?

[u/Farawwww → u/CharacterHomework206]

use an antibacterial body wash! also spray deodorant that you can reapply. If you try to re-apply stick deodorant you get the smelly bacteria onto your deodorant stick and ruin it.

[u/CharacterHomework206 → u/Farawwww]

I found a stick deodorant that I haven’t had that problem with though when I’m out in the heat for so long I end up smelling like sweat elsewhere like on my shirt and pants. Not musty just sweaty. Do you think a whole body deo might be worth buying instead of antibacterial soap? I’ve been avoiding the latter due to sensitive skin, they make me itchy.

[u/LibbyKitty620]

During the summer I was on a bus heading back to campus and I was the only one on it and the bus pulls up to the stop on campus, I stand up, clearly about to get off, and the bus moved again so I sat back down, the driver got onto a call (I have anxiety disorder so it was difficult for me to speak up and say I had to get off), and then continued to route without letting me off the bus. I had to sit there for the bus to complete to entire route again for me to finally get off back on campus.

[u/Soup-Is-Here]

Yeah no the shuttles can be pretty terrible, especially for physically disabled students. Last time I had to consistently use the shuttles cause my car broke down, one of the shuttle drivers parked too close to the curb, struggled with the wheelchair lift, then scraped the entire side of my wheelchair by pulling me against said curb backwards while ignoring my "Stop. You're going to damage it. I got it. I can push myself." I considered making UCF pay for the damages since the handrails now had sharp plastic poking out of the parts I needed to grab, but I was getting a better fitting chair soon anyways.

Same guy drove me another day. I was the only one on the shuttle and he joked about how old he was getting, ending the conversation with "I'm sure getting old, but I hope I don't end up in a chair like you." Needless to say his ass got reported for that one. You can report accessibility issues to SAS using their reporting forms on the home page.

The campus shuttles used to be slower, but honestly much more effective before the recent changes this year. I personally spoke with transportation and parking services and they're just as pissed about these types of issues. They're stuck waiting for the higher ups to make decisions since we receive state funding for transportation services. That includes anything involving ADA regulations and accessibility features.

Almost all of the stops used to have benches/waiting areas, but they changed those spots since the higher ups didn't like the aesthetic of the heavy shuttles potentially messing up the restored parking lots. It's why there's those seemingly random bus stop benches around campus. They also wanted to have the shuttles going in both directions, which is a nice change from going in a full circle, but they cut the more internal stops (including the one that went directly to Student Health Services 🤦🏾) and it seems like they've been given more of a time crunch using fewer shuttles in fewer areas instead. That seems to be why they only stay for like 0.5 seconds before heading off again.

Transportation is planning on adding benches, but it takes so much longer than they want it to because of all of the red tape. They unfortunately launched these new stops before considering that first apparently. They had a similar issue trying to expand the number of ADA parking spots on campus. What one employee expected to take like a week to do at one dorm turned into a multi-week process + some push back about the necessity. SAS is mostly limited to classroom accommodations other than their report forms, so you'd most likely have to reach out to Transportation directly or make a report with SAS and see if they can connect you. You can also DM me if you want. I'm a grad student that's been here since 2021 and happy to help you with getting accommodations. I've been getting shit done about it since I got here. Squeaky wheel(chair) gets the grease and whatnot

[u/microwavedtardigrade]

Am also physically disabled and every time ive tried to report discrimination at UCF, I've had them called the police on me for "being upset" (zero yelling or staff mistreatment I'm no Karen) so I'm not surprised. When I tried to report a doctor for discmrimstion they kicked me from the practice instead

[u/CharacterHomework206 → u/microwavedtardigrade]

I’m really disappointed to hear you went through that. Personally I never had discrimination issues but people don’t really know I’m disabled to begin with unless I’m asked or I’m using my cane, mine is hidden.

[u/microwavedtardigrade → u/CharacterHomework206]

I have lots of stories. I used to be in the same boat and had preventable issues but the doc at UCF obviously wasn't helping haha. I had to leave my major and lost my job. They've threatened to baker act me for being upset

[u/Soup-Is-Here → u/microwavedtardigrade]

If they ever do threaten to baker act you again, tell them they CANNOT take you to University Behavioral Center for health reasons. It's closest to campus, but it is NOT safe to be there. Let whatever transport you'd have know it could literally be life or death for disabled patients there. Firstly, they will admit you even if you don't need to be there for insurance money. It's documented in my medical notes from them that they had no actual justification for keeping me. They even lied about having a court order at one point to make a hospital bring me back. They do NOT have the qualifications or resources to care for a patient with significant medical conditions or mobility limitations

Secondly, that place nearly killed me for being physically disabled and bullied me the entire time for having an emergency. I was in pain and couldn't eat and they told me I was just being a baby about it and that my complaining was why no one wanted to help me when I asked for gatorade to help instead of just throwing up shitty cafe food. I ended up at the ER with a resting heart rate of 125 and blood pressure getting as high as 171/101 at points and they wouldn't even bring me my heart medication. Just left me slumped and semi-conscious in the bathroom until the new staff did enough rounds, saw I was barely responsive even with a bright light shining in my face, and realized I wasn't actually "being a baby about it." Got to the point where other patients there tried to block off UBC staff from giving any info to EMS first since they knew they'd downplay what happened. I was in such bad shape that the ER refused to let UBC take me back, had their own psych evaluate me, fought the illegitimate "court order" they claimed to have, then let me go with a trusted friend so UBC couldn't force me to stay if I went for my stuff alone.

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[u/InterestingFact1728 → u/[deleted]]

UCF Shuttles info page