A collision occurred early Sunday morning of Halloween weekend involving the 85 line of The Rapid bus and a vehicle. The accident occurred around 1 a.m. at the intersection of Pierce Street and Lodge Drive, near Grand Valley State University Greek housing.

Witness to the accident Carly O’Donohue was on her way home from Halloween celebrations with friends when she heard a loud noise. 

“At first I thought it was a gunshot or a firework, but when I didn’t hear anyone scream or any lights in the sky, I thought a car backfired because I could see smoke,” O’Donohue said. “We made it to the bus stop, and there were other people there and they asked us about the noise and we were discussing what we thought it was when one of my friends said she looked on the bus app and the bus was stopped at the stop before us still, which was unusual because it should have been to us by that point.” 

Little to their knowledge at the time, O’Donohue and her friends would not be catching the 85 that evening, as it remained at the scene of the accident. 

“Another group of people were walking from the direction of the previous bus stop and said that it was the bus that got into the accident,” O’Donohue said. “So, we found another ride home and left since the bus was not going to be coming anytime soon.” 

The accident and the resulting backups left many people waiting at stops in anticipation for its arrival that would not come on schedule. Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department responded to the event and assisted with clearing the roadway. Any injuries to vehicle occupants remain unconfirmed at this time. 

Unfortunately, this is not the first accident that has occurred with a bus serving the GVSU community. It only last year when a rapid bus was involved in a separate collision on Lake Michigan Drive, resulting in non-life-threatening injuries for two vehicle occupants.  

The Rapid, the Grand Rapids public transportation system, takes such occurrences seriously, ensuring their drivers are receiving training to prevent such adverse events. 

“Daily life and travel can involve certain risks to passengers and transit employees alike, therefore, making your ride as safe and secure as possible is The Rapid’s number one priority,” according to The Rapid’s policy. 

The incident highlights the importance of bus safety, especially in areas with a high concentration of public transportation users, such as GVSU’s campus. In the 2023 Existing and Future Conditions Report from The Rapid, Routes 12, 15 and the Laker Line are among the top performing and highly used routes. The report named the “highest activity stops are typically located on the GVSU Campus” with Laker Line as the line with the most monthly riders, recording about 89,234 riders per month in 2022.Other popular lines around the university, like route 9 (32,484 riders a month) and Route 37 (30,8000 riders a month), made the top 5 most popular lines. Survey results from 2019 report nearly 50% of students using the bus as their primary means of transportation in 2019. Of these students surveyed, only 54% rated bus drivers in terms of skill and safety as good or better. 

To report an incident involving the Rapid or receive further information regarding safety procedures, please follow the provided link.