Two shuttles came, and two shuttle drivers went … on break, that is. Leaving their shuttles empty and up for grabs at the shuttle stop in South Lot, I, along with other students, contemplated what seemed to be a foolproof plan: hijacking the shuttle and driving ourselves back to York Hill (since no one else would). Unfortunately for our group, no one knew how to drive a bus.

As I waited for the shuttle, traumatic childhood flashbacks flooded my mind, when I relied on my parents to drive me where I wanted to go. I spent years waiting for a ride. I would wait for hours on end for my dad to get off the phone, finish eating, finish working, so I could finally get a ride somewhere.

After 17 years of waiting, the day I dreamed about had finally arrived: the day I got my license. As the lady at the DMV handed me my plastic card of freedom, I thought I would never have to wait for a ride for as long as I lived. I was wrong.

The shuttles at Quinnipiac are about as reliable as a Magic 8 Ball.

I find myself waiting for a shuttle back and forth from the York Hill campus for anywhere from five minutes to an hour depending on the time of day.

Normally, I wouldn’t mind waiting. I understand that the drive from the York Hill campus to the Mount Carmel campus is messy with all the construction and traffic on Whitney and Mt. Carmel avenues. But when three shuttles come and go within five minutes of each other and leave me waiting for half an hour, there’s something wrong with that.

To me, It doesn’t seem that hard. One shuttle should be leaving the Mount Carmel campus as another is leaving the York Hill campus. And since the number of students living at York Hill increased with the addition of Eastview, there should be a third en route to either campus. Plain and simple.

Also, there is no reason for the York Hill shuttle drivers to be on break at the same time. If you leave 40 impatient students staring at two empty shuttles, well, you can use your imagination as to what could happen.

As juniors, my fellow classmates and I are solely dependent on these shuttles for transportation to and from the Mount Carmel campus during peak hours due to the new parking regulation that prohibits juniors from parking in North Lot until 3 p.m. on weekdays. It’s like I’m 15 again and the shuttle drivers are my parents. Except instead of knowing exactly how long I have to wait for a ride, now it’s just luck of the draw.

After thoughts of hijacking a shuttle subsided, one of the shuttle drivers came back for us. By that time, a herd of 40 students had accumulated at the shuttle stop in South Lot. Unfortunately, his shuttle was one of the smaller ones. Trying to fit 40 students on a shuttle that only seats 24 was difficult, but the driver allowed a few extra on with the condition that they sit on the floor.

Choosing between waiting for another shuttle in the rain or sitting on the mud-covered floor of a shuttle is like choosing between the lesser of two evils. You don’t know what’s been on that floor, but you also don’t know when another shuttle is going to come. Obviously, this group chose to sit on the floor while the rest were left stranded at the shuttle stop.

Actually, I take back what I said earlier. A Magic 8-Ball is way more reliable than Quinnipiac’s shuttle system.