ACW-UA PRESS : Shuttles Struggle in Uniabuja.

• School Palaver- Struggle for Shuttles

      For some, the matter of availability of shuttle buses may sound like  garbage in their ears but for others, it is fundamentally serious and must be given earnest consideration.
      It is this "others"  who go through the arduous custom of chasing down buses in order to beat other students from getting there before them.  In that process, this same "others" have missed lectures, tests and in most cases exams.
     The fact that final year students and even lecturers who were formerly students decades ago acknowledged this problem shows that it had indeed existed long in the tooth.
     To shorten the story,  as evidenced above,  this problem requires serious attention and a subsequent solution. But these "others" have said that the solutions constantly stare us in the face.
    With this in mind, we will take a look at some of the problems as well as the proposed solutions as given by those who faces them
    The problems

Disproportionate number of shuttle buses: Prior to my research, and after analyzing the questionnaires returned, It was discovered that  shuttle buses were simply and grossly inadequate. Every year, more student are absorbed into the system, yet the number of these vehicles  remains at a stand still. In short, it defies the first law of supply as given in Economics.
 In both campuses, the number of students greatly out-numbers available shuttle buses. If not, what other reason would be responsible for the disheartening-everyday-occurrences of more than a hundred students on a bus meant for  at most sixty students.
Largely discomforting: As observed from the questionnaire, an estimated ninety percent number of students agreed that at least eighty percent of their trips were not at all comfortable. This they blamed on the shuttle regulatory' tradition of taking in passengers until it was chocked-up. As a result, everywhere becomes stuffy and unpleasant.
Excessively time-consuming: Majority of those questioned agreed that the public transport was more time-saving than shuttle buses. They said that in most cases, when they used the shuttle buses, their times were  wasted and when they eventually arrived at their destinations, the lecture, test, exam might have been over.
   Due to the attributed time waste associated with the long shuttle buses, many students sort an improvised solutions for themselves. According to them,   during exams, they would make use of short buses,  and if not available, they would go through public transport, thus, abandoning the long buses.

The Solutions

  When asked how these problems could be solved, they pointed simply that the number of available buses should be increased. But when asked why they thought this was not done yet,  many blamed it on the laid-back approach by the school. On the other hand, some indicated that it was the duty of the AUMTCO(Automobile Transport Cooperation) since the buses and its operations were in their care but also admitted that if they were not living up to expectations, it was the duty of the school administration to spur them into action.
    Like one of respondents  said and I quote," It all boils down to having enough number of shuttle buses. If there were enough shuttle, there would not be overcrowding in buses".
   They also agreed that chock-full buses were generally slower and that if the long buses were to gain the trust of the students, the AUMTCO had to introduce more buses allowing fewer people to be transported and resulting in a faster transport.




   Conclusion
On a whole, it is evident that there is near-countless lapses in the school's transportation system and consequently in dire need of some over hauling. On an overall basis, more buses must be provided as this is central to other shuttle problems- discomfort, time waste and so on.
Certainly, there are works to be done. And if the administration is willing enough, there would surely be an improvement.



This research and Article is compounded by Joshua Odinaka Matthew.
And Edited and Presented by Miss. Enoima Okon Edem. (Vice President. Main Campus)