While most public transportation services do not aim for the label of "the drunk bus," it still has been bestowed upon various vehicles from Ocean City, Md. to Cancun, Mexico.

On these buses, typically mild-mannered people are seemingly compelled to turn the ride into a sing-along/boxing match/gymnastics competition. And the Loop, some say, might qualify as such a bus.

"The students just don't know when to say when," said Steve Crownover, operations supervisor for the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA). "I'm not condemning them, but they really don't know when to stop."

Crownover said students' rowdy behavior and rough language is irritating to the drivers. CATA's rider conduct policy states that using profanity, harassing drivers, drinking alcoholic beverages, disturbing other riders and putting feet on the seats is prohibited.

These guidelines, however, are not always followed.

Craig Hess, a Loop driver for more than four years, said football, more than anything else, incites bad behavior in passengers.

A veteran of the late-night shift, Hess said comparisons made between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers typically provoke students.

"There's more fights over football than anything else," he said. "Last week students got angry over it again, ripped off the ads above the seats and just threw them off the bus."

Crownover and Hess agree another problem on the Loop that has developed is the tendency for some passengers to simply leave their friends on the bus.

These students are unaware that they have been left on the bus, or that they even got on the bus, as they are usually intoxicated, Hess said. Those passengers left on the Loop may find themselves in the garage of CATA at the end of the night, he said.

"We take them back to the garage, where they finally wake up and realize where they are," Hess said. "I personally try to wake them up. But if I can't, I have to call the authorities."

Other popular Loop institutions are the "Loop flips" or "bus flips." With two hands, passengers grab the bar and then pull their legs through their arms, said Matt Mowery (junior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management). Mowery said he has accomplished several such flips.

Hess said he can't see passengers as well when there's a crowd, and if they are doing Loop flips, he rarely catches them, he said.

"I usually just hear their feet hit the floor by the time I look back," Hess said. "And they normally only do one."

Singing is also a popular Loop activity, with the best examples being when the entire crowd does a rendition in unison, Hess said.

John Ajay (senior-crime, law and justice) said that one time he used the intercom to lead the bus in an impromptu sing-along.

"The singing's a good thing to me. It's entertaining, and it's usually the whole bus," Hess said.

He said that though there may be raucous behavior, few students have to be expelled from the bus. Even with four years under his belt, only 12 riders have vomited while on his bus.

Most of the students who are thrown off have violated the non-smoking rule, which Hess said is broken frequently.

"The drivers tolerate a lot, and I give them a lot of credit," said Crownover, who added that the driver's shifts can last as long as eight hours.