Money can’t buy everything.

Despite boasting the highest wages of any on-campus student job, Binghamton’s Off Campus College Transport has been suffering from a bus driver shortage because of strict driver training standards. But now, said Elaine Liu, its service manager and operations coordinator, OCCT is revamping its training program to encourage more drivers to apply.

“People were discouraged because it meant an entire unpaid semester,” said Danielle Beaumont, who started driving the blue buses last spring. “Now they can get paid quicker.”

In past semesters, applicants had to undergo a full semester of training, which discouraged many students who were considering the job. The training program has now been condensed into a minimum of four weeks, Liu said. Previous training involved a group class, which has been reduced to one-on-one sessions, allowing for a more intensive learning experience behind the wheel.

“This will allow our drivers a lot more practice and to get really good before they start driving on their own,” Liu said.

Applications for driver positions are now rolling, as opposed to the set deadlines of previous years, and freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to apply.

“We hope to gain drivers that will stick with us longer,” Liu said.

OCCT is currently accepting applications. In order to be a blue bus driver, applicants must have one year of active driving experience, a clean license (no points) and the intention to stick around for at least one more year, reads its Web site, occt.binghamton.edu. Drivers make $8 per hour to start, Liu said, with a $1 raise for every year they stay on.

SCHEDULING MISHAP

Meanwhile, changes in the OCCT bus service had some students scrambling to understand their commute to campus when incorrect schedules were distributed at the start of this semester.

The confusion was caused by printing errors on a revised schedule, Liu said. The errors involved three changes to the Johnson City Westside loop, and one to the Grand Floral loop. The incorrect schedules were distributed to students, but the mistakes were caught early and new, corrected schedules were given out the first day of classes. Liu added that errors are often more frequent at the start of each year.

“The schedule changed from last year because of the shortage of drivers,” Liu said. “We had to work with our resources.” Included among the changes was the elimination of a South Side loop, which, Liu said, she hopes to be able to start up again with more new drivers.

The updated OCCT schedule can be found outside of the Old University Union, as well as on OCCT’s Web site.

The student-run bus service was founded in the 1970s to provide free service to those who couldn’t afford regular Broome County Transit fares — people who would often end up having to hitchhike to school. Even though BC Transit is now free for BU students, OCCT has grown to 10 34-seat buses and a vehicle for the physically challenged.

The blue buses run all over the Triple Cities area, and the Late Night Service goes to Downtown Binghamton as a taxi alternative to pick up dozens of post-State Street students per run Friday and Saturday nights. The last bus leaves for BU from the State Street area at 3 a.m.

Student groups can also pay to charter the buses — provided they don’t want to go to New York City or leave the state.