Students respond to Safe Ride alternative

Students from Cal Poly will have a new option to fall back on for a safe ride home when they go out on the weekends: College Shuttle.

Associated Students, Inc. announced Wednesday that a 12-passenger shuttle van will circulate through six different stops from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., Thursday through Saturday, beginning May 18.

The stops are: Longs Drugs at Marsh and Broad streets, Campus Bottle at Hathway and California streets, intersection of Chorro Street and Foothill Boulevard, the intersection of Cuesta Drive and Foothill Boulevard, the intersection of Patricia Drive and Foothill Boulevard and the intersection of Ramona Drive and Palomar Avenue.

The program will serve as a temporary solution for students who have been looking for alternatives to getting home after Safe Ride was cancelled last month. ASI President Tylor Middlestadt worked with administrators and community leaders to work out a solution.

General engineering senior Melissa Meinerth said she and her friends would probably use the new service.

“We used to use Safe Ride all the time,” she said. “Instead we’ve been walking home in the dark.”

But only students from Cal Poly will have access to the shuttle service. Some students wonder what type of inconvenience this might pose.

Construction management freshman Brian Azzopardi said he thought it was a good idea to prevent people from drunk driving, but had a lot of questions about the efficiency.

“What if you have a friend visiting from home?” he said.

Since the service is a only a short-term answer, student leaders will observe how well it works until the end of the quarter and use what they learn to develop something more permanent. The shuttle’s accessibility may be extended to others in the future.

“During the pilot program, the service is exclusive to Cal Poly students. If Cuesta is interested in the fall, we will be happy to look at options for including them,” Middlestadt said.

Students expressed other concerns, including the lack of a stop in the Madonna area, and that people might come to rely on it as their sole form of transportation.

Others noted that the circulation to fixed stops sounded like a good idea because of the unreliability they experienced with Safe Ride.

“I think it’s awesome, instead of relying on them to come pick you up,” said business sophomore Billy Johnston. “Sometimes Safe Ride wouldn’t even come, especially if you’re a guy.”