<p>I really want to go to rutgers but are the buses annoying? Also, how far is downtown NB?</p>
<p>Buses can be a pain especially late at night and on the weekends. Also god help you if you want to get from cook to busch and vice versa around rush hour. Like 45 minutes x.x but for the most part you get used to them. Downtown nb is pretty much connected to college ave so you can walk it.</p>
<p>I agree about the busses. My son (current sophomore) waited an hour for the bus, in the rain, last week after a night lecture hall class on College Ave. Every bus that went by was full, Out of Service, or the one he didn’t need. So yes, it can be very annoying. </p>
<p>He hates the weekend bus schedule also as the busses are more infrequent.</p>
<p>There are things to do to minimize the bus issue, but you can’t control them all. For example, try to take classes on Busch/Livingston if you have housing there. Don’t take a class on Cook or even College Ave unless you realize you’ll have to spend more time on busses. But you can’t always choose your housing so that could be a problem if you are an engineer who ends up living on Cook.</p>
<p>Even getting from Cook to College Ave (a 5 min car ride) can take a lot of time if it is raining or late at night. Sometimes busses will pick you up then go out of service at the next stop and kick you off. Now you have to wait for another bus!</p>
<p>This is the worst aspect of Rutgers, imo. Sometimes it works out for you and sometimes it doesn’t. The bus issue bothers me enough that I hope my second son gets into a college he likes better with a smaller campus so at least I know he can get to class on time and get home without too much trouble by just walking. </p>
<p>Definitely think about the bus issue.</p>
<p>ps there is a way to ‘complain’ when you don’t think there are enough busses scheduled on a route, but I think they read the comments, laugh, and delete them. They really don’t care.</p>
<p>Rutgers changed the bus system from the last two years I’ve been here. There are all new buses and all new bus drivers. The drivers are the worst part. They don’t know the routes or how to do their jobs; they also don’t seem to accept their jobs are what they are. I have witnessed and heard stories of so much unprofessional behavior and I’m simply appalled.</p>
<p>The buses weren’t that bad until this year, and I’m really hoping they get their act together soon.</p>
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<p>This. I’ve never seen a bus driver storm out of the bus and curse at a driver that was “in his way”, and then keep honking until they drove away. There’s a huge overcrowding issue too; I’ve seen two buses on college ave. where the driver called the police to force people off the bus.</p>
<p>I definitely took last year’s bus system for granted.</p>
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<p>To sum up, the buses can be annoying. But why base your decision on the buses rather than your department of interest?</p>
<p>"To sum up, the buses can be annoying. But why base your decision on the buses rather than your department of interest? "</p>
<p>Because buses are a huge part of the quality of life issue at Rutgers. You need them to get to class and back home again!</p>
<p>My son didn’t really have problems last year so I am a bit reassured by others’ postings that this might be a temporary problem. I hope everyone affected makes a phone call or sends an email regarding problems they are experiencing. If enough people complain, it might make a difference, especially on social media websites.</p>
<p>I know that when I get my next phone request from Rutgers for a donation, I am telling them that I am giving my allotment to my son for cab fare when he needs it.</p>
<p>Buses definitely can be very irritating. But, as a current Rutgers student, I agree with drexeler. It isn’t THAT horrible that it would impact my decision to go to Rutgers. Usually if you give yourself a good chunk of time before class, you should be able to get to class early or on time. And yes, the buses are the absolute worst on rainy days like last week, but most days they aren’t AS crowded. </p>
<p>And on the bright side, at least you don’t have to walk very far distances in bad weather like other universities…</p>
<p>i agree with drexeler as well. the buses get really annoying sometimes, but if you plan ahead and leave early you will never be late to class. anyway, if you’re basing a decision that is going to follow you your entire life on a bus system you have your priorities out of order.</p>
<p>“…but if you plan ahead and leave early you will never be late to class.”</p>
<p>This, I disagree with.</p>
<p>My son always leaves early and is very organized. He didn’t really have complaints about the buses last year, but this year is different. He was waiting 1/2 hour to one hour on several occasions, and arrived late to class on several occasions. They are just very disorganized this year. I hope the situation improves.</p>
<p>i have been late to one class so far this year, and it was my own fault (overslept of course)… i can’t comment on how the buses were last year. i agree that the buses do bunch up like crazy sometimes, where you will have 3 or 4 of the same bus in a row, and then none for another 20 minutes or so. </p>
<p>but again, maybe i should clarify. you need to leave REALLY early. sometimes there is no delay and you end up getting to your destination very early (nothing wrong with that), or if there is a delay (traffic, bunching), you can make still make it to class on time. </p>
<p>anyway, i’ll say it again, buses are a big quality of life issue, but there are so many other factors to choose from when selecting a college that the bus system should not be at the top of your list, in my opinion.</p>
<p>flyingcrayons: in a perfect world, everyone would leave extra early and get everywhere on time, but sometimes it is just not possible. What about a student who needs to go from College Ave to Livingston, and has allowed an hour in the schedule, as required, and the bus is an hour late? You can’t leave your class an hour early to get to the next class.</p>
<p>Sometimes things do not work out even when you try to plan, and that is very frustrating.</p>
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<p>I had a couple friends who had to wait an hour for the H bus once. Although this is a terrible alternative, one could always take a couple buses. For example in the case you stated, someone could take a bus from college ave. to busch, then the b bus to livingston. It’s annoying but could work given those buses are on time. I did this a couple times last year during final exams since the buses from busch to college ave were always packed. </p>
<p>We shouldn’t have to ever rely on alternate routes, but it’s helped my time management and creativity skills. I give it that much credit :/</p>
<p>@rualum It isn’t like the buses always are extremely delayed and you are constantly having to find new alternatives. Sometimes things like that do happen, and you may be late for class but it doesn’t happen that often that it’s a daily interference.</p>
<p>Like everyone else is saying, the majority of time (probably 90% for me), if you plan ahead you will get to class early or on time. Sometimes I have narrow time slots to get to different campuses (like Busch to Livingston in 30 minutes) but only one time so far has the B bus made me late for that class. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for everybody, but for the other students I know, it isn’t that big of an issue. Maybe your son is an exception?</p>
<p>sj Busch to Livingston is rarely a problem. College Ave at night and Cook/Douglass to/from anywhere, at various times, can be problematic this year.</p>
<p>My point is that it’s not always a matter of ‘just leave early’ if the buses are disorganized. Someone who has not experienced it may not appreciate the logistics involved. I’m glad you and your friends have no problems with the buses, but many people do, and it’s aggravating.</p>
<p>A recent address by the president of Rutgers: </p>
<p>In addressing enrollment, McCormick said the Newark and Camden campuses “have more room to grow,’’ but he said New Brunswick was “at its full capacity, some would say over capacity.’’</p>
<p>As a result, next year, the New Brunswick campus would accept roughly 250 fewer incoming freshmen, a reduction of about four-percent. The school also would close the admission process earlier than it has in the past, he said.</p>
<p><a href=“http://newbrunswick.patch.com/articles/richard-mccormick-gives-final-address-as-rutgers-president[/url]”>UPDATED: Richard McCormick Gives Final Address as Rutgers President | New Brunswick, NJ Patch;
<p>I’ve been wondering this as I’ve snooped on this thread for a while, I am potential transfer student and cyclist, could I just throw some metal treads on my bike and say to hell with the buses? When it’s not heavily snowing.</p>
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<p>Though I’ve never brought a bike to campus, it is doable! There’s a bike path that some people take from Busch to get to College Ave. From College Ave you could ride or walk to Cook/Douglass via George Street, but you’d have to go through some residential areas so I wouldn’t recommend it after dark. I believe there’s a bike lane on some parts of the road from Busch to Livingston.</p>
<p>With the buses this year, it could be faster for certain routes to ride your bike, but I wouldn’t rely on just your bike.</p>