This letter is an addition to the recent letters about the Campus Connectors that appeared in the Daily. It has been my experience that the Campus Connector drivers are completely disrespectful to students, particularly students with physical disabilities.

One morning, while approximately 100 students were crowded outside waiting for a connector, I saw one lone man in a wheelchair trying to push his way out to the front so the drivers would see him. One nearly empty bus approached and drove right by him, making it impossible for him to get on the bus.

The driver had deliberately decided to ignore the man’s needs. He told me this happens quite often and that drivers never seem to “see” him.

Then, a second bus approached and repeated the actions of the first. A third bus came and it looked as if this time the man would be able to get on a bus. The bus driver mumbled and cursed to himself, got on his jacket, went outside and fiddled with the loading door, got back on the bus, fiddled with some more switches and finally popped his head out the door telling the man, “It’s broke,” and drove away. Just before he drove away, another bus came up behind us and also failed to pick the man up. That’s five bus drivers who were unwilling to load a physically-disabled student.

I regularly ride city buses, and it is just common knowledge that physically-disabled people board first. A city bus driver won’t even let you on the bus if there is a physically-disabled person trying to get on. Despite all the positive changes lately, there is no way I will acknowledge any positive aspect of the University transit system until students start to be treated with more respect, especially those students whose very transportation depends on this flawed system.