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As people raised their hands for an opportunity to express their complaints, a Big Blue Bus customer representative frantically jotted down bus riders’ comments about the system on poster paper.

“My son has to wait 30 minutes to catch a bus home from school.”

“If the bus is full, the driver won’t stop to let people in.”

“The bus drivers are throwing passengers around when they drive.”

In a Big Blue Bus community meeting led by Customer Relations Manager Dan Dawson on Thursday, community members discussed such concerns, in addition to public transit developments.

The meeting started with a presentation outlining possible changes to the wait periods for lines 4, 5, 8 and 9, as well as the fare structure.

Dawson addressed future projects, like putting up a Rapid 7 line in 2008, which will have limited stops, a facility expansion project, and the addition of real-time signs and GPS tracking.

After the presentation, the floor opened up to the audience to discuss issues such as the frequency of buses on certain lines and slowness due to traffic.

Senior Administrative Analyst Paul Casey replied that the slowness problem could only be fixed if bus lanes were made available, which is not entirely under the Big Blue Bus system’s control but would require the efforts of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Other problems, such as inappropriate honking, could be fixed with driver education, said Larry Taylor, computer programmer at UCLA.

“It’s frustrating that drivers will honk when there are only two cars in front that aren’t moving when the light changes,” Taylor said. “It not only violates the California Vehicle Code section 27001, which says honking should only be used for insuring safety, but the peace of the community as well.”

The audience came to life over issues of driving skills, saying the jerky driving made them feel like they were being thrown around and caused neck pains.

While many riders brought up concerns with buses in the general Los Angeles area, others addressed problems specific to UCLA.

“They should put more stops at the Ackerman turnaround because it’s so tiring to have to walk into Westwood to catch a bus to somewhere only a few minutes away (to drive),” said Jeffrey Duh, a first-year aerospace engineering student.

Dawson assured the audience that all the issues brought up at the meeting would be addressed in weekly service improvement group meetings.

“Every suggestion today will be written up and we will literally go down every single comment and discuss ways to fix the problem,” Dawson said. “Input and feedback from the community is so important.”

Community members voiced several concerns throughout the discussion, but many people expressed their thanks for having a meeting to address their issues and for providing information.

“It is a great information seminar to keep up to date on what changes are being made,“ said Mat Silverstein, third-year history student. “I’m surprised more students didn’t come. It would make transportation a lot easier for them.”

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