Coach America publicly apologized Thursday for temporarily prohibiting KTAR 92.3 FM from being played on busses driving between ASU campuses.
Now they have mandated that no radio be played at all.
In what they call the Quiet Ride policy, Coach America, the company contracted by ASU to operate its shuttle buses, has instructed its bus drivers to refrain from listening to the radio, said company spokesman Steve Kuenzi.
However, the new policy does not restrict the use of personal music players with headphones, such as iPods, he said.
The decision was made in the interest of universal good taste, he added, as past complaints have been levied about all types of stations — rock, jazz, country and talk.
Most recently, complaints were centered on talk-radio station KTAR.
Following an objection from one student in October and again two weeks ago, Coach America sent a letter to its drivers calling KTAR "offensive and distasteful" and disallowed its play on ASU buses.
The letter released Thursday was meant to apologize for the harsh words in the original memo, Kuenzi said.
"The wording in the original bulletin used the complainant's words, and it really seemed to imply those were our words," he said.
Russ Hill, KTAR programming director, said he thinks the apology was the appropriate move in this situation.
"We greatly appreciate the comments from the bus company," he said. "At the same time, we think [the Quiet Ride policy] is a disservice to all 65,000 students at ASU."
He added that he thought this was a classic example of one person in society speaking up and taking offense and dictating what people can and cannot listen to.
But interdisciplinary studies senior Kevin Burns, who rides the bus between ASU's Tempe and West campuses, said he has never really paid too much attention to the radio while on the bus.
He said he understands why some students might deem KTAR offensive, but added that drivers should be able to listen to the radio.
"I feel bad for the guy," Burns said of his usual bus driver. "He has a boring job."
Theresa Fletcher, director of ASU parking and transit services, said the radio is not meant for the commuters.
Fletcher said that although Coach America held talks with ASU concerning the best course of action following the uproar, ASU was not involved in the final decision.
Kuenzi said some drivers voiced concerns, but no driver raised a serious objection.
Hill said KTAR is trying to contact the drivers to give them radios so they can listen to the station at home.
"We feel like they're the ones who really lost out," he said.
Reach the reporter at: daniel.newhauser@asu.edu.
