For many Colgate University students, the campus shuttle system represents a lifeline. Beneath this vital service, though, lies a human connection often overlooked by busy passengers.
Dale Holden, a long-time shuttle driver, described the transportation service.
“A Colgate shuttle bus driver provides transportation to not only Colgate students and faculty, but to the community of Hamilton as well. [The] Colgate transportation department provides rides around campus and town on a specific schedule with multiple buses running throughout the day and evening,” Holden said. “Colgate transportation also provides students and faculty with rides to and from the airports, bus stations and train stations.”
For students without cars, the shuttle provides a way to get into downtown Hamilton as well as farther places such as Price Chopper for daily essentials and groceries. For those living down the hill, the shuttle can also be a means of transportation for getting to classes up the hill. In addition to regularly scheduled rides around campus, the Colgate shuttle system offers an on-demand shuttle service to Syracuse Hancock International Airport, the Syracuse Regional Transportation Center and the Utica Boehlert Transportation Center, which students and faculty can reserve ahead of time for a fee.
In order to keep students, faculty and community members safe, the shuttle drivers go through rigorous training, physical exams and continuous education to be able to serve the campus community. They all have to obtain a commercial driving license with a passenger endorsement, be at least 21 years of age and have three years of driving experience, have a biennial medical examination, pass drug and alcohol testing, have a complete background check and have annual defensive driving observations.
While Tim Svenson has been a shuttle driver for seven years, he explained that students out and about between classes and walking in the street can make it hard for shuttle drivers to navigate their routes.
“The hardest part of the job is when the classes let out and the students are walking from one class to the next and there is a large amount of students walking through the areas where we drive the shuttles,” Svenson said. “It’s very hard to keep an eye on everyone and hard to drive the buses through the people walking.”
Holden echoed this sentiment but is also very confident in the skills that the shuttle drivers have learned as a result of their extensive training.
“The hardest part of being a shuttle bus driver is being alert and attentive to the surroundings around us daily, but with the training and experience that us bus drivers have, it has become second nature to all of us,” Holden said.
While the job may be difficult at times, campus shuttle drivers continue to showcase their dedication to Colgate’s campus through their interactions with students and other community members. Doris Excell has only been driving the campus shuttles for a few weeks now but she already possesses the ability to adapt her services to her passengers.
“The interactions between the drivers and the students and staff just depends on personality and moods,” Excell said. “I generally introduce myself, get out and open doors for my passengers. I’ll have a conversation with them if they speak or just let them be — [it] all depends on the day.”
Svenson continues to enjoy the campus views and interactions with students.
“It’s great being a shuttle driver because I get to see first hand the beauty of the Colgate campus and I get to interact with the students on a daily basis […]. The best part about being a shuttle driver is that I get to know the students on a more personal level. Rather than thinking of it as a job, I think about it more as a chance to see my friends everyday,” Svenson said.
Svenson expanded on how he doesn’t see students as “his job” and more as friendly faces that he gets to know on a personal level. He prides himself on the fact that students feel like they can talk to him when they need someone to talk to.
“I have really great interactions with the students that I transport on a daily basis. I talk to them as people more than thinking of them as ‘my job’. I get to learn about some of the students on a personal level, and I like them to trust me and feel that they can talk to me when they feel like they can’t talk to anyone else […],” Svenson said.
Holden agreed that he enjoys being a resource for students and wants to make sure that everyone who gets on his shuttle feels better when they get off than they did when they got on. He explained that he understands how difficult college can be.
“I am the first person many of these adults see daily. I make sure to greet each person and give a positive affirmation to each of them,” Holden said. “As a father of eight children that all attended college, I’m aware of some of the hardships students face being away from home. I treat my passengers on my bus how I would want my children and grandchildren to be treated.”
While Colgate students readily recognize the transportation convenience provided by the shuttle system, the emotional support and friendly interactions offered by drivers often go unacknowledged.
Next time you board a Colgate shuttle, consider striking up a conversation with your driver. Behind the wheel sits someone committed not just to your safe transit, but also to your wellbeing — someone who might provide just the support or laugh needed to brighten your day.
