‘It reeks of pee’: Students share dissatisfaction with Pitt transportation

“For the most part, the shuttles got me [to where I needed to be],” Maria Hernandez, a senior psychology major who frequented Pitt’s University-run shuttles, said. “On time? I wouldn’t say so.” 

Pitt offers shuttles and late-night SafeRiders for students to travel to South Oakland and upper campus through its partnership with Pittsburgh Transportation Group. Students, however, often struggle with using these resources reliably.

Hernandez, who used shuttles regularly for two years while living on upper campus, said that one of the biggest issues with the shuttles is how long and infrequently they stopped.

“Sometimes they would stop at Trees, and they would just sit there for the longest time, so a lot of people would build up on the Cathy stop, and they would wait and wait and wait. And then when a shuttle would show up, everyone would try to pile in there,” Hernandez said. “It was just kind of a nightmare, especially when it was raining or snowing … that’s when I had a less pleasant experience with the shuttles.”

Sandy Barsotti, director of marketing and communications for the Office of Business, Hospitality and Auxiliary Services, explained that traffic might play a role in the unreliability.

“Due to our urban setting, shuttles may be delayed due to traffic patterns throughout our service areas,” Barsotti said. “Guests can check the status of our shuttles by using the TransLoc app.” 

Lauren Kotulka, a senior Spanish major, mentioned that crowding can be an issue on shuttles, especially when people are forced to stand. She said one shuttle driver has a system that works well to mitigate that issue.

“It’s like, if you’re getting off first, you sit in the front, but [with] other shuttle drivers, it can get really bad, especially if you’re standing and then everybody has to get on and get off,” Kotulka said.

SafeRiders are a mode of transportation available for students to use directly, between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m and up to 25 times per semester. Students often use them for late-night rides, and when a van pulls up, Kotulka said “it’s kind of awkward.”

“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Is this a shuttle driver or is someone trying to kidnap me?’” Kotulka said. “I think they have stickers on them, but when it’s dark out and you’re trying to see if that’s your ride, you don’t really know.”

Hernandez reported that she had an experience where one of the drivers was “a little inappropriate” towards her. 

“I got picked up at Benedum, and then we went all the way to South O, picked up more people, and dropped them off,” Hernandez said. “I was the last one to basically get dropped off. And he was like, ‘Do you have to be anywhere like tonight? Do you have to be anywhere? Are you in a rush?’” 

Hernandez said she previously heard of drivers behaving inappropriately towards other female riders.

“I just felt uncomfortable with him asking me if I had to be somewhere that night, in the sense [that] he didn’t want to drop me off and just keep picking other people up and with me in the van,” Hernandez said. “It was a little odd.”

Barsotti said Pitt is “committed to ensuring the transportation safety of our students, faculty and staff.”

“We take all complaints seriously and investigate any report or issue that is brought to our attention,” Barsotti said. “To date, no reports have been submitted to Pitt Mobility for anything related to SafeRider.”

Olivia Kessler, a first-year theater and communications major, walks more to her dorm on upper campus because the shuttles “just won’t be there.”

“I’ll get out of a class, and then I want to go to my dorm now, so it’s easier to walk instead of sitting around waiting,” Kessler said.

Though Sophie Yohannan, a first-year economics major, has only used the shuttle a few times, she noticed it was really hot inside.

“I don’t know if it’s just me or if it’s just a coincidence, but, like, the other day I was on [a shuttle] and they were, like, blasting heat,” Yohannan said. “There was no AC, it was already warm out, and it was so bad.”

Talia Hankins, a first-year psychology major, added that one of the shuttles has smelled like urine for the past week.

“It reeks of pee,” Hankins said. “They’re constantly blowing air in there, trying to [get the] smell out, and the windows are down.”

According to Barsotti, shuttles are cleaned frequently.

“The cleanliness of our shuttles is very important. Therefore, our shuttles are cleaned and checked at the end of every shift,” Barsotti said.

Neither Hankins or Kessler have used a SafeRider yet, but they’ve tried navigating the system.

“Every single time I order a SafeRider, it always gets canceled,” Hankins said.

Instead of using SafeRiders, Kessler often orders Ubers because of what she’s heard about them getting canceled.

“If I’m ever out really late at night, and I don’t want to walk up the hill, or I’m not in the best area,  I’ve been hesitant to get them because I know … they never come, and they’re actually not reliable at all, so I feel like making them actually work and reliable would be good,” Kessler said.

Mercedes Maynard, a sophomore psychology major who uses the shuttle everyday, said she usually has a good experience with them, though it depends on the timing.

“It is a little unreliable at night after nine-ish,” Maynard said. “The drivers will change, or there will be a lot of people at the stop waiting, and they have to choose between walking up with all their stuff or calling a SafeRider, which is also unreliable.”

Both Hernandez and Kotulka said more shuttles would help to reduce problems like wait times and crowding. Hernandez said she believes providing shuttle drivers with benefits and “just trying to be nicer to the drivers” could help improve the shuttles.

“I think that we could all treat the drivers a little bit better,” Hernandez said. “I feel like that would make a more efficient workforce … and a more efficient transportation system.”

Barsotti said Pitt “holds [Pittsburgh Transportation Group] to the highest standards of safety, cleanliness and customer service,” and that any feedback can be sent to pittshuttles@pitt.edu.

“If the physical appearance of our shuttles or the service we provide to our students, faculty and staff are not up to our high standards, we want to know about it,” Barsotti said. “QR codes with links to a feedback form are posted on all shuttles, and all comments are monitored daily.”