RIDE still needs changing to ensure student safety

To improve campus transportation, the University implemented several changes to the RIDE shuttle service this summer, including the addition of a timetable and the division of the route into two independent loops. The changes came on the heels of charges of disorganization, most notably, frequent deviation from the RIDE’s route.

While the Administration’s decision to standardize the route and post schedules at each stop was a smart one, the RIDE remains in need of improvement. Designated spots may have blue-light phones nearby, but they are located in deserted areas, such as parking lots, that make them unsafe places to wait 20 minutes for the shuttle potentially alone.

Students need to know if the next van will show up in one minute or fifteen, in case the vans are off-schedule. The best, and most logical, solution would be to create a dispatch center, where employees can tell students exactly where their drivers are. More also needs to be done to publicize where the RIDE should be at different times. Printing and distributing a wallet-sized schedule is a good start.

Public Safety’s advice that students take advantage of the RIDE, coupled with the occasional disturbing report of street violence, makes clear the need for organized on-campus transportation for students. The Administration cannot realize its commitment to student safety without more human and monetary support. This means more shuttle vans to reduce wait times.

Until the University can provide a service that makes routine stops with shorter intervals between pick-ups, it should re-introduce the safety escort on a limited basis. To be sure, the Administration’s claim that students abused the service by using it as a taxi service was certainly justified. But there are situations when the existing RIDE system is not an appropriate choice for students. Should the University heed this suggestion, students should use the escort selectively, out of respect for students who might need it more.

Last semester, campus safety became a public debate when WSA candidates included downtown shuttles as one of its platform issues. While introducing a downtown shuttle is a laudable step, the University must make on-campus safety its top priority. Any funds that might be allocated toward this service should instead be used to make on-campus shuttle service more efficient.