By Liz Skinner
Entering the University of Louisville as a first-time student at 40-something, I knew that I would be facing challenges. I dodge freeway traffic as if playing a video game to get my kids to school on time. Somehow, I manage to make it, while still making sure I don’t show up with a Spiderman backpack. After a 60 mile commute, I ride the Black Loop Transit Authority of River City buses between campus and the commuter parking lot. Recently, my desire to ride a shuttle was not well-received by a TARC driver.
On Oct. 30, I had a teacher conference to attend and invited my friend, a non-student mechanic, to have lunch. Afterward, we decided to hop a shuttle back to the parking lot. I knew from a pamphlet I received in August that bus fare for non-students was 50 cents, I had my shiny quarters ready to deposit into the fare box. But I encountered the biggest challenge yet—a challenge to my status as a U of L student.
As my friend and I stepped up onto the platform, the bus driver motioned with a talk-to-the-hand style flair.
“Hold up, ya’ll ain’t students,” he said.
Surprised at the reaction, I stammered that, while I was a student, my friend was not.
“Non-students don’t ride,” the bus driver said. “You can ride; he can’t get on or get off.”
I stepped back off the bus, feeling the stares of my fellow students on the bus. We were humiliated. I had been age profiled. My friend, dirty from his workshop, felt that he had not met some invisible, unspoken standards.
Fortunately, the next bus driver picked us up without question. We immediately went to the security shack to question policy. The original bus driver saw this, and left the bus to confront us, telling us it was a miscommunication.
“Non-students were supposed to be able to ride for 50 cents,” I said.
“It’s a buck 50 to ride… You should have known nobody rides a bus anywhere for 50 cents,” the bus driver said.
At this point, I decided to ask TARC about the policy. According to TARC spokesperson Nina Walfoort, student fares are prepaid. The fare for non-students on the Black Loop used to be 50 cents, but in September TARC increased the fee to $1.50, to be more in line with the rest of the system.
“If a rider doesn’t have his or her ID, isn’t carrying books or a backpack and doesn’t have university paraphernalia, we generally let it slide the first time,” said Walfoort.
Walfoort apologized for not announcing the changes and said they were not advertised to college students, because it really didn’t affect them. She also added that TARC was afraid that it would concern the students, who might fear paying higher fees.
“The driver was completely wrong on four counts, and this never should have happened,” said Walfoort. “We are very sorry for your experience. And we will be looking at the incident and TARC’s driver training, to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”
I appreciate the apology, but I have some suggestions. If drivers are going to question one passenger, they need to question them all. This would eliminate the possibility of offending students who don’t look traditional. In addition, TARC needs to make sure it communicates fare and policy change. How can we be informed, if no attempts at communication are made?
The world is changing. Many of us, while not coming to school dirty from work, are nonetheless coming from work. We don’t all look typical, but we are all students. We are all on the bus for one reason—to get to the classes that propel us into our futures. Ask me for my ID; I am proud to be a U of L student. But just make sure you ask all of us. After all, we are all proud to be here.
