PNW replaced US Coachways with Chicagoland Transportation as the new bus vendor for the inter-campus shuttle system due to concerns about US Coachways from students, faculty and staff.

Brian Miller, director of Public Safety, said US Coachways was unreliable and PNW had problems with their quality of service and lack of timeliness. Miller said that Chicagoland Transportation has better management and customer service and will provide a timely and more reliable service.

“[Chicagoland Transportation] are from the local area. They are more responsive to our needs, and they provide on-campus personnel to manage their bus transportation,” Miller said.

On Aug. 31 the shuttle service was temporarily suspended due to a dispute between US Coachways and a subcontractor. The subcontractor walked off the job. Miller said the dispute had nothing to do with PNW, but students, faculty and staff were stranded at both campuses until US Coachways obtained a new bus provider.

“Contract issues between bus drivers and the vendor are not within PNW’s control,” Miller said. “However, Chicagoland Transportation has a good reputation in the bus industry and would not have kept that reputation without competent management and solid employee relations.”

At the time of the dispute, the buses were designed with the PNW logo. However, after the dispute, the buses were taken back by ACR Coach, which is a bus provider that US Coachways provided for PNW. Those buses will not be back on campus and Miller said the new ones will not be designed.

“The new ones will not be wrapped with PNW in the near future. They may possibly be wrapped in the future if the contract [with Chicago Transportation] is renewed or extended,” Miller said.

Andrianna Johnson, sophomore communication major, said she takes the bus twice a week because of a mandatory communication class that is offered only at the Westville campus.

She said at the beginning of the semester, it was stressful riding the bus because of traffic and construction.

“I recall on several occasions waiting almost an hour past the departure time because traffic was so bad. Many of the passengers including myself were very understanding, but we were frustrated because we did not want to be late for class or work at the other campus,” Johnson said. “Sometimes the traffic jam would cause the bus drivers to delay departure up to an hour to maintain the schedule. We would be stuck on one of the campuses for forty-five minutes to an hour.”

Miller said the new 40-passenger buses will stay on the same schedule. Johnson said that the experience with the new vendor has improved with more comfortable seats and the bus having Wi-Fi, but she thinks the schedule should be changed.

“The current bus schedule can be conflicting at times. For instance, the bus departs every 15 minutes after the hour. This is problematic for some of the passengers because some classes end at exactly 15 minutes after the hour,” Johnson said. “In fact, my class ends at 12:15 p.m. which is the time the bus is supposed to leave. I have to run from class and hope that I did not miss the bus. Luckily, the other passengers look out for each other and ask the bus driver to wait a minute.”

Johnson said that there should be more time slots added or adjusted so passengers will not worry about missing the bus or being late.

The schedule was changed at the beginning of the semester. Now the earliest time for departure is at 7:15 a.m. and the latest time for departure is 5:15 p.m. There are currently no plans to change the schedule again.

“Overall, I think the PNW inter-campus bus shuttle is making progress and I would advise others to ride the bus instead of driving. That way they can relax, read or get work done before going to the other campus,” Johnson said.