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Thursday, April 19, 2012
Heading home: Students weigh in on bus choices MELISSA ESPAÑA Staff writer
W
e’ve all been there. Your parents are expecting you home for the weekend, it’s already Thursday afternoon, and you’ve yet to purchase your ticket back to your hometown. Of all the different bus services on campus, which one do you choose? I surveyed a handful of students to fi nd out.
Suburban Express Price range: $19.95-$29.95 for a one-way ticket Prices tend to be higher as you buy your ticket closer to the day you are leaving, and are more expensive on the weekends.
main buses. Therefore, some buses don’t have Wi-Fi, making it an inconvenience for students who planned to get work done, or just wanted to listen to music online during their trip.
Inappropriate Advertising
“SEXpress,” “Get some,” and “We’re not LEX,” are only a few of the advertisements Suburban Express puts out on their bright yellow flyers. “They have a very negative advertising campaign,” said Hollis Johanson, a freshman in LAS. “I don’t think any of that is really necessary to get kids to choose (Suburban Express).”
Lincolnland Express (LEX) Price range: Using coupons and promo codes can cut down the price, but tickets can range anywhere from $10 to $30.
Greyhound
Pros:
Pros: Reliable and convenient service
Some students choose Suburban Express because of how close it drops them off to home, or for the fact that if you live in PAR/FAR or ISR, the bus picks you up right in front. Some bus services have been known to arrive at their destination far beyond the expected arrival time, or to arrive at the pick-up location at least 15 minutes early. Suburban Express keeps it pretty consistent. “(It’s) the most popular,” said Michelle Kelley, sophomore in LAS. “There is a reason behind it. It’s convenient and has a lot of available times. It’s my bus of choice.”
Cons: Expensive
Although students have spoken highly of the Suburban Express’s great service, they have also commented on the high prices. Suburban Express has a higher price range and rarely offers tickets far in advance, so an average one-way trip to Chicago or the Chicagoland areas range from about $20 to $30. Marco Velarde, freshman in Engineering, said he doesn’t like the high ticket price, not just because there were cheaper options, but because not all of the promised services, such as Wi-Fi, were included.
Does not always have all the amenities promised
Sometimes bus services are so busy, especially on holiday weekends, that they don’t drive their
CRACKED FROM PAGE 6A Mandell said. “Right now, we’ve purchased our truck, we’ve trademarked our name and we’re incorporated. We’ve also put a deposit down for the fitting of the truck so we’re getting aluminum ceilings, diamond plated floors, an air conditioner unit, a sliding door, window and WiFi.” With their business plan down and a truck on its way, it’s only a matter of time before the business will be up and running on campus. Cracked plans on opening the week before classes, August 15 precisely, in order to get their name heard around campus before school starts. Students will be able to find the Cracked truck on the North Engineering
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“I spent an hour on the side of I-57 because our bus driver didn’t know how to work our bus, and had to flag down a Suburban Express bus driver to show him how to fix the problem,” Thomas said. “I will never ride (with) them again.” Students have also experienced their LEX bus arriving late on multiple occasions, either to pick them up or to their expected destination. “According to my roommate, the one time she took LEX, it came an hour and a half late,” said Joe Martinez, sophomore in Engineering. Although many of the accusations made about LEX haven’t exactly been proven, some students will refuse to use a service simply because of their friends’ reviews.
Lenient on the no-ticket rule
Whether it’s a random student from your chemistry class, one of your travel buddies, or even you, chances are that almost everyone has witnessed the ticket collector deny someone access to the bus because they left their ticket at home or forgot to print it out. “I had just printed my ticket for Suburban (Express) 20 minutes prior to departure and somehow along the way to the bus pick up site, I lost the ticket and I wasn’t allowed on the bus.” said Genesis Galva, freshman in DGS. “I was extremely upset because it was five minutes until departure and there was no way that I was going to have time to print the ticket out again.” Because sometimes students honestly forget their ticket on their desk or it slipped out of their bag when they were reaching for their sweater, it’s good to have a bus service that is lenient on the rule.
Price Range: Tickets can be as cheap as $2 if bought months in advance and if purchased online the day before, can be about $15 one-way to Chicago.
Pros: Cheap and has more options
With some planning, students can purchase Greyhound Express tickets for as low as $2. All it takes is buying your tickets far in advance and purchasing them online. “I think it is very reasonably priced,” said Angela Jose, freshman in ACES. “It is not unsafe in my opinion. The only inconvenience is that I have to take a bus from the Illinois Terminal.” Another reason students opt for the Greyhound is because the Greyhound offers many time options, from early hours of the morning to late at night. “(Greyhound is) easily accessible. Plus, they are highly convenient and pose great service all around,” Velarde said.
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MARCO AND MARTY
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Rumors about not being safe or reliable
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In April of last year, a vehicle sideswiped a LEX on Interstate 57. Rumors about thefts on LEX buses have also been talked about. “LEX is simply a bus service that is just shady and unreliable,” Velarde said. “I’ve heard too many stories regarding the malfunctions of this bus service.” After a bad experience with LEX, Warren Thomas, freshman in Media, never wants to use the service again.
Melissa is a freshman in Media.
Quad and on Green Street. “Right now, the plan is to be at a certain spot from 8 to 3 and then be in a different spot from 10 at night to 3 in the morning,” Krause said. “Then hopefully in a year or so, we could get a truck that’s doing more of a route and going to different places every time.” Mandell and Krause are also looking into making food stops at various Champaign businesses and at the Illinois football games this upcoming fall. Plus, there’s also been talk about trying to reach out and cater for fraternity and sorority philanthropy events. If the business does do well, expansion will definitely be something that Mandell and Krause will look into. They explained that their expansion role model is Chipotle. “In terms of expanding, we
would like to be at every Big Ten campus,” Mandell said. However, even if Cracked doesn’t end up being all it’s “cracked” up to be, both Mandell and Krause aren’t worried about what the future will hold for them. “This is a make or break. If it works out, that’s great and it’s what we were aiming for and planning on,” Mandell said. “And if it doesn’t, we’re still going to be 22 and have a place to sleep.” Despite the obstacles they’ve already had and will continue to face, both believe that they can make the company work if they set their minds to it. “There’s going to be a million things where you want to say this isn’t worth it but in all honesty, there’s always a solution,” Mandell said. “If you want to make it work, you can.”
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Unsafe or “shady”
Because the Greyhound doesn’t pick up students directly in front of their dorm and is located at the Illinois Terminal, and because the drop-off locations in Chicago are sometimes known to be unsafe, some students avoid using the Greyhound service. “I don’t feel unsafe just because I know the bus driver will help out, but there are always some ‘shady’ people,” said Melody Cruz, sophomore in LAS.
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