well, the buses are crowded and the music can be loud. but really is not as bad as its pictured! WE just need to get the problem solved! Get more buses on more schedules DIRECTLY to our housing!

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Well then I was a customer of my undergrad university as well because I also paid them a good amount of money each and every year. AUA did give you the opportunity to become a physician..thats all i'm saying. I am taking advantage of it and you are too. You might be a customer..but like my undergrad..i am an AUA STUDENT.

There are problems with the transport, but dont call it a scam. You did get home or did you not?

We had the same problems, and we solved them by working through the SGA to expand the bus schedule. I've always advocated buying/renting a car, preferably with friends after your first semester. It's far more convenient than school transportation.

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Sree

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You made some very false and unfortunate statements that may mislead prospective students. The transportation system isn't nearly as bad as you're making it seem. First of all, the buses are very comfortable. I live in Trafalgar also and in fact, our bus has a TV in it. That driver is a very nice guy so I don't know which driver you say is rude. You say the buses are overcrowded but that's not true. Because a bus is filled to capacity does not mean it's overcrowded. Also, what's wrong with a little music? I don't find the driver plays the music excessively loud. I like the music and the movies so speak for yourself. And speak for yourself when you say that the students are unhappy with transportation. I have friends who live in Utopia and Mandalay who have no complaints with the bus service or the drivers.

As for it taking almost an hour (not 1.5 hours like you said) to the premed campus from Trafalgar, I suggest you speak to the parties involved directly before making these unnecessary complaints on this forum. My friend shared that same concern about the time taken to reach the premed and she spoke directly to L, the guy who runs the bus service and he said he will let the bus go to the premed immediately after dropping off at Jasmine Court. Simple! You have to remember, Trafalgar is far from the premed campus. So I figure that only 5 minutes would be saved by this action. But people here are nice and accommodating so they are always trying to help.

I know things aren't perfect here but neither are they perfect in the US. Yes water problems and other problems do happen. But it's not like people make that happen on purpose. The locals go through the same problems and survive. I figure if we live in such nice housing and having a few problems, then the locals must also have similar problems. So, please try to learn to live in an imperfect world or you will be miserable and it will affect you grades. And stop calling things a SCAM! Do you really know what a scam is?

The bus service is definitely not a scam, however I am part of Pre-Med SGA and if you have any complaints I suggest you contact us. I am the VP and know L (as mentioned in the previous post, the guy who runs the bus service) and will happily call him or meet with him and pass on your complaints. If there is anything L can do to make your bus ride more convenient, trust me he will! So contact SGA KVarner (i think i know who u are, either way come find me and we can sort it out)! thanks!

1) They might as well not have a TV on the bus. We get nothing from it. Either it isn't on, or there is no audio (I would rather have no audio on it).

2) 11AM bus leaves here. Leaves from the med campus at 12:00 Noon. Gets to the pre-med campus at 12:30ish. I do believe that 11-12:30 is 90 minutes, or 1 and 1/2 hours!

3) What the locals go through is their business. To suggest that it is OK for us to have these problems because other people have them is a non-argument.

4) I have not experienced many people being nice and willing to help around here. I didn't expect that, though, so it isn't a surprise, and it is no different anywhere you go, in the states or elsewhere.

If you want to talk to L, the bus guy, here is what you should tell him:

1) get semi-decent buses. Your buses are small and uncomfortable.

2) Add more buses at the morning pickups, and have one that goes DIRECTLY to the pre-med campus with no stop at Jasmine Court.

4) Add more buses at the afternoon pickups on campus.

5) Ban the drivers from playing music.

6) Tell the drivers to be courteous to the passengers. Perhaps you can have them wear name tags, so that if they are discourteous we know their name when we make a complaint.

Maybe you can talk to L yourself since you are the only one with a problem. I have no problems with the bus service. I like that music is played on the bus and so do most people and I guess someone could be rude depending on how you approach them. Maybe you appraoch the drivers and even others in a way that makes them appear to react rude to you. I say so because the drivers are EXTREMELY nice people and even the locals so I don't know why you are the only one with that complaint. The TV works when I'm on the bus and the buses are very modern. Maybe you should take a look around the island. From what I see, the school buses are of a higher standard than all of the buses on the island. And I don't think with the narrow roads, the buses should be any bigger. Besides it's not needed, the buses hold everyone fine.

Hello everyone,

This is a very interesting discussion; heated - but interesting all the same. I guess a balance of sorts needs to be put in place. I like the point about the name tags. I think most of the drivers won't have a problem with that. About not playing music at all - that may be stretching it. I guess the questions are what type of music, for how long and how loud are the questions that could be asked.

Most of what is being discussed is based on opinion thus a one size to fit all may not be appropriate - or even possible. Yes, this is Antigua and persons do turn up their music. The culture of schools and school buses (at least the private ones) is for music to be played loud with the tinted windows and such. That's what the culture is like here. Not everyone agrees to it. What I do notice though is that it is someone changing.

The point about how the locals do things that's their business is somewhat valid. However it does lead to opinion and also the need for a balance. Obviously there are persons who feel strongly on either extreme and the powers that be need to be able to provide some sort of solution.

It seems that L is the person to talk to regarding this and maybe when speaking to him/her some of the things that could be considered prior are:

1) what do the students want...collectively
2) is it possible to cater for at least two extremes or rather a balance of all extremes
3) what is the atmosphere that should be experienced while on the buses

* maybe a questionnaire could be drafted up. Everybody likes statistics....

I remember taking the bus a few times while in college and I can relate to each argument. Sometimes I was into feeling the bass and getting all pumped for my economics and computer science classes. Other times, I really wanted to hear some instrumental music before getting ready for Statistics and Probability! .

I believe the user brought up a good point about the money that is being paid and I get the impression that quite a bit is being paid. This could be highlighted and would be warranted. Ofcourse, it is more how we say things rather than what we say that is important.

Communication is insurmountably important and maybe it is time to do some review of the process and seek ways to implement some improvements based on a collective experience. It's sort of like this: Not all drugs work for everybody, but given enough research they can come pretty close - but that can only happen through trials, communication, research, and tests - otherwise we'll all have dry cough, stomach ache and vomiting!

Hope this helps

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I don't understand why Antiguan culture should play a role in how the school's buses are run. The vast, vast, vast majority of students are not Antiguan, and they are the ones paying for the service. He who hath the gold ought to make the rules.

I realize that I may be a *bit* abrasive when confronting individuals with whom I am unhappy. I am inpatient. When I go to a bar and want a drink, I berate the bar tended until he serves it to me, and then I tip him well. Then I tell him that if he wants the tips to keep coming he'd better serve me quickly. Yeah, I'm an unpleasant individual, but it usually works. When it doesn't work, I just go find another bar.

Quite frankly, I'm considering finding another medical school. Maybe I will just go back to the states and take some more classes and try to get into a US school. So many things are going on here that just infuriate me, and it seems like the administration of this school just doesn't care about it. I have been so distressed by all of these inconveniences that I have been physically ill and unable to attend classes for the last two days. Once I get some valium or something I might be allright, but if they try to give me trouble about the missed classes, I am out of here. I can't believe that I PAID to be put into this situation. Someone would have to pay me a whole hell of a lot of money to get me to agree to live like this.

Today is the third day in a row that I have gotten a horrible, throbbing, vision-altering headache. I believe the technical term is "migraine", and I only get them when I am seriously upset for long periods of time.

Why don't they just tie me up and lay into me with a stick of bamboo? It would be better than the way I feel right now.