KU students were late to sports fixtures earlier this month after the free university bus service was permanently cancelled without students’ knowledge.
Connor Mottrom, captain of the men’s lacrosse team, had to delay his game against Brighton as some of his team arrived over an hour later than planned.
He said he was told by the Student’s Union that the bus was running but it never turned up.
Mottrom said: “It was our first game of the season and he had to push it back, it doesn’t exactly set the best example to new freshers that we have spent a lot of time to recruit or to the other team, it made us look very disorganised.”
Mottrom had to push back the starting time of his game against Brighton because he did not have time to run through vital warm ups and rules with his team due to the bus confusion.
“It is a shame they have cancelled the bus as it is always fun meeting as a team to get the Cougar spirit going and get everyone pumped for the game. I think they should have made the cancellation clearer to sports students as I had told my team there would be a free bus,” Mottrom said.
The bus service used to serve between KU campuses and the sports ground in Tolworth.
The delay in the men’s lacrosse game also meant that women’s lacrosse had to be pushed back by half an hour as a result.
Tess Edwards, member of the women’s team, said: “Luckily we were all there before to support the boys so no one was horrifically late but we had to explain to Royal Holloway why we were delayed and it just looked unprofessional.”
Other students have expressed their need for a replacement to the cancelled service. Women’s football president Adelen Jorgensen Sandli said: “It is a good offer for students because it was free and easy, we need something similar.”
A spokeswoman for Kingston University said: “The University and the Union of Kingston Students have been working closely to design a bus service that caters for the requirements of the Union’s sports clubs and societies.”
Alice E Rickman
Jade Oates
Shaunelle Harrydass-Clark