A Love-Hate Relationship with the BU Shuttle

An endless cycle of love, betrayal, and missed connections…

by Jacqueline Liu

Image by Rachel Bernstein

They say true love is all about timing, and nowhere is that more painfully true than with the BU Shuttle (BUS)—if you miss it by five seconds, you’re left watching its taillights fade like a heartbreak you should’ve seen coming. The BUS is every BU student’s toxic ex: sometimes it sweeps in just when you need it most, but other times, it ghosts you completely, leaving you stranded and aggressively questioning your life choices.

The Love: No matter how hot and cold, you’ll always be back for more.

When it comes to love-hate relationships, there’s always that one thing that keeps pulling you back in—despite how many times you’ve told your best friend that you’re sooo over it. 

In this relationship, the BU Shuttle has some undeniably redeeming qualities. It’s free—a rare luxury in college life! It spares us from Boston’s unforgiving weather (the treacherous mix of murky slush and hidden ice? Hard pass). And let’s not forget its charm as a literal moving social hub—ideal for running into friends, exchanging awkward eye contact with your campus crush, and eavesdropping on unhinged conversations from strangers.

The Hate: A never-ending cycle of disappointment. 

Sure, falling for its allure again can feel like a dream at first, but when reality hits, you remember exactly why you left in the first place. 

Timing? What timing? Once your frustration sets in, you realize the BU Shuttle operates in its own enigmatic time zone—whenever it feels like it. And that thrilling chase you once lived for? Gone. Because sprinting after the bus only ever ends in heartbreak, humiliation, and some heavy breathing on the side of Commonwealth Avenue.

Learning to live with the madness… 

I say all this, but let’s be honest—it has an unshakable hold on you. No matter how much you complain, you know you’ll be back tomorrow, waiting at the stop like nothing ever happened. 

Everyone on campus falls victim to its grasp; there’s just no escaping it. Eventually, we all form an unhealthy attachment to the BU shuttle—we hate it, we curse it, but we just can’t quit it.