Shuttle UM opinon graphic
Adding to campus-wide dissatisfaction with the Department of Transportation Services, the department is facing yet more criticism from the campus community.
On Tuesday, The Diamondback reported on a black student’s complaint of Shuttle-UM’s inconsistent checking of university-issued IDs. The student, senior government and politics major James Edwards, said he was asked to show his ID outside The Varsity while he boarded the 128-Enclave bus. When the bus halted at the next stop, two white students were not asked to present their IDs before boarding. According to Shuttle-UM regulations, which can be found on DOTS’ website, a university ID is required to ride the 128-Enclave bus, among other routes.
DOTS Director David Allen said the event was brought to his attention, and employees reviewed the footage from the surveillance cameras on the particular 128-Enclave bus that Edwards was riding. Allen said it was the driver’s first time driving a bus that required IDs to be presented, and based on a lack of experience, the driver simply forgot to ask the two students at the next stop to present their IDs.
While the incident could easily be chalked up to inexperience and forgetfulness, Allen also said the driver asked each student to present his or her ID before boarding the bus on a previous run of the 128-Enclave bus route. The inconsistency does raise a red flag. If Shuttle-UM bus drivers do not ask every student to present his or her university ID on the routes requiring such proof of identity, they run the risk of being accused of profiling certain people.
Allen said asking for identification on certain routes is not a new policy. He also said DOTS does not want to leave students abandoned on bus routes for forgetting their IDs. It’s true: Shuttle-UM could put riders in danger by carelessly letting nonstudents board the buses, as many crimes on the campus are perpetrated by individuals not affiliated with the university, according to University Police.
To prevent Shuttle-UM bus drivers from profiling and allowing individuals aboard the bus who do not possess a university ID, DOTS should enforce a blanket ID-checking procedure for routes that require IDs. Allen said DOTS driving instructors make an effort to make sure drivers are checking for IDs, but it can be difficult to enforce that ID checking is occurring because drivers can simply forget to ask. However, why can’t Allen or anyone else in DOTS evaluate footage from the surveillance cameras found on all Shuttle-UM buses? Employees reviewed the footage from the event with Edwards; therefore, they should be able to review footage of ID-required routes. The ability to fix the problem is already there; DOTS just has to use it.
Requiring university IDs for certain bus routes is mandated to ensure the safety of passengers and students of this university. If the action of checking IDs is compromised, then so is the safety of passengers. In order to promote the safety of everyone, including DOTS, Shuttle-UM bus drivers should be policed by DOTS employees to ensure they are checking IDs of all potential passengers on the designated routes.
