COLUMBIA, 1/7/25 (Beat Byte) -- A Columbia mass transit and pedestrian advocacy group wants to know what bus riders think of Go COMO, the city's public transit system. But a reputation for fighting, drug abuse, and ill-mannered riders on some bus routes has surfaced again in a pointed discussion about the effort on the ColumbiaMo Reddit page.
Move the Community (MTC), a division of Pednet successor Local Motion, "is creating a short documentary film about the experiences of bus riders in Columbia," organizers explain in an online rider survey. The goal: "Transportation justice," explains the group's website. "All communities need access to a safe, reliable, affordable, and equitable transportation system that connects them to the places, people, and resources they need to thrive."
Lack of safety and reliability, however, are at the heart of Go COMO's poor reputation.
"The last time I rode the bus, I had to aggressively stand up and yell 'What the f-- do you think you're doing?!' before squaring up at an old homeless guy with no teeth who had nodded off behind me and had his drooling head fall asleep into my neck from behind," explained a Columbia-area Redditor during a discussion about MTC's proposed documentary.
The comments reflect two recent in-depth news reports about the city's troubled transit routes.
An ABC 17 news investigation last July found violence, overcrowding, intoxication, and property damage on the Go COMO orange line, a popular route for homeless persons in north Columbia. A KOMU story published two days ago lamented the bus system's unreliability and driver shortages.
“I’m trying, trying, to help with increasing wages, trying to see if we can make their job safer, and adding additional adults on the bus so we have more people driving,” Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe told KOMU.
But wages are hardly the only issue turning off potential bus drivers.
Fighting and heated arguments have plagued at least "thirty five percent of buses I've taken in the last two years," the Redditor continued. "I've smelled the absolute worst smells a human can emit. I've had crazy or high people start rubbing my shoulders and playing with my hair. Some idiot blasting beats on his Bluetooth speaker is a regular occurrence through all of this."
A bus driver on the orange route between the Turning Point homeless drop in center at Wilkes Blvd United Methodist Church and Room at the Inn reported a two-man fight that broke a bus window. "I was very afraid, please take me off that route," the driver wrote in an incident report.
Other Reddit bus riders recounted better experiences on the MTC thread. "I've never had a negative experience with other bus riders," a second Redditor explained, claiming the negative comments about Go COMO may represent "an agenda for our community I strongly oppose."
*Columbia Heart Beat editorial policy omits social media pseudonyms and nicknames which do not identify commenters and OPs.