A late-night ride home is now just a phone call away.
Mid-way through the spring semester, Student Government (SG) launched an on-demand transit program called SafeRide, in which students can receive a car ride from Sunday through Thursday between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. simply by making a phone call.
The program offers students a ride anywhere on campus and to any of the roads surrounding campus, including Ponce De Leon Boulevard, Red Road, San Amaro Drive, Campo Sano Avenue, and Pisano Avenue.
SG Press Secretary AJ Ricketts said that, along with the support of Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Pat Whitely, the SafeRide program will expand this upcoming fall semester, from a pilot program to a campus-wide initiative in the fall.
“Plenty of people get into jams at night that could use the service,” senior Peter Graber said. “Certain majors that carry more than others like music students would need it because they have instruments.”
However, SG wants to emphasize SafeRide’s importance to all students, not just those in the Frost School of Music or School of Communication, who would be carrying heavy equipment. It can help students avoid dangerous situations late at night, SG President Nawara Alawa said.
“They won’t have to walk through sketchy areas to get home at night,” Speaker Pro-tempore Doug Aguililla said.
He created the program, and modeled it after a similar program he noticed in place at Florida State University.
Though the current bus routes don’t cross to U.S.-1, Alawa and the SG team hope to work with the Department of Parking and Transportation in order to expand the bus’ routes.
SafeRide will supplement the current emergency blue light phones, which students can use to call the police.