Students who find themselves taking the lonely trek home on the No. 5 Huskie Bus Line, fighting to maintain sole ownership of their seat and dodging the elbows of those standing seatless, may find themselves puzzled.

Old logos, slow buses and overcrowded seats are some of the issues Charlie Battista, general manager of the Huskie Bus Line, is addressing.

“We don’t design the system,” Battista said. “We provide a service to the students.”

Managing the only student-run transportation system in Illinois, with 12 buses running to and from the NIU campus and the DeKalb area, isn’t an easy task. Some issues are neglected, but Battista and Christy Hartnett, Student Association director of transportation, are trying to tie up loose ends.

Replacing the old Huskie bus logos with new, snazzy ones is at the top of the Huskie Bus agenda. Hartnett asked Battista to compile cost estimates for the job, and they’re shooting for winter break as a good time to do it.

“We’ll probably have them on by the beginning of next semester,” Battista said.

Also in the works for overall bus aesthetics is the possibility of updated SA logos.

“We’re looking into artwork for that,” Battista said.

After artwork has been chosen, winning designs will be taken to a sign shop for estimated costs.

Aside from working on the overall Huskie Bus appearance, Battista and Hartnett also are responsible for fielding student complaints.

Hartnett recently responded to complaints that scheduled bus times, mainly that of bus Nos. 3 and 3A, which travel along Russel and Normal roads, Greek Row and DuSable Hall, were changed by five minutes, causing late or missed classes. She explained that the times were spread out so that students wouldn’t have problems catching their buses.

“The reason why times changed this year,” Hartnett said, “is because last year, at Ridge Row, both buses met at the same time. They had them running too close together.”

If students notice their driver taking extra time outside of the buses for breaks, Hartnett said that during a regular three-hour shift, a driver only is allowed to leave the bus one time, for a total of five minutes, and only outside of DuSable Hall or the Holmes Student Center.

To register complaints or for more information about the Huskie Bus line, call Christy Hartnett at 753-9922.