There may not be any specific rules for riding the Bullrunner in writing, but there are four very important unspoken rules that USF students should know before stepping on the bus.
1. Don’t sit on top of each other
The seats are small but taking up two seats and squishing one person up against the window isn’t fair. Instead of putting your bag on the floor between your legs, hold it on your lap so the person sitting next to you can ride comfortably too. There is nothing more awkward than having to touch the person next you, and nothing more disturbing than being touched by the person next to you. So just hold your bag on your lap to avoid all this awkwardness.
2. Don’t take up a whole seat for your bag
The same rule about holding your bag on your lap is the same for those who want to have a whole seat just for their bag. When people are forced to stand on an over-crowded bus, you will get dirty looks if you are the person who has their bag on the inside seat and you are staring at your phone, pretending not to notice the looks or people standing up around you.
3. When standing on the bus hold on to the handles appropriately
It may be easiest to just skip holding onto the handles at all by holding onto the vertical poles when possible. When you do have to reach above your head to hold onto the handles, please don’t face the person sitting in front of you and hang on the handle. You may not notice, but your armpit is in the passenger’s face and that is just not a nice way to wake up and transport to school. Don’t face backwards either because if the bus stops suddenly, you will fall back and possibly crush some toes. The best way to hold onto the handle is by facing forward with the people sitting down at your side.
4. Wait for the next bus when the arriving bus is packed
This mainly goes for the C bus because it tends to be the most crowded of the routes. We all know this route needs more than two busses, but when the driver says that it is full and to wait for the next bus that is coming in five minutes–do. The next bus really is only five minutes away and it will be more enjoyable for everyone if more people can be seated. Overcrowding only slows the route down and makes people late. It is your responsibility to leave with more than enough time to get to class in case of emergencies. If you do this, waiting five extra minutes for a less crowded bus won’t be a big deal.
What are your biggest pet peeves about the Bullrunner? Tell us in the comments.