Ryan ChartrandCome fall quarter, Cal Poly students will have more transportation options when leaving a house party with no designated drivers or walking home late from the library.
Cal Poly is bringing back the Safe Ride program after the previous program was terminated two years ago, said Associated Students Inc. President Brandon Souza.
“The owner indicated that he didn’t want to continue the services after there were problems with the large buses and crowds of 20 to 30 people on the buses,” he said.
After extensive research by Souza and his executive cabinet, they were able to pinpoint the best program, to Sacramento State University.
This particular program, run through its student government, is strictly volunteer-based and has been wildly successful with no major problems, Souza said.
“Student organizations (such as sororities and fraternities) volunteer their time one or two nights out of the quarter to provide volunteer rides,” Souza said. “The costs are also minimal since it’s volunteer-based and they reimburse individuals for mileage.”
To really see the program in action, Souza and a few others visited Sacramento to participate in the ride-alongs.
Souza said there is a room at Sacramento State where the volunteers can gather on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to wait for calls to come in.
“The program really does flow well and I think the program could work really well in San Luis,” Souza said.
Souza said he and his executive cabinet are in the process of taking the program at Sacramento State and developing procedures and drafting a proposal to be discussed with next year’s ASI staff. The question of how the program at Cal Poly will be funded will also be discussed.
“It’s a great program that is just really in the planning stages right now,” he said.
“(Next year’s ASI President) Angela Kramer has indicated that this is one of her top priorities, so she’ll have plenty of time to work on it over the summer and hopefully have something for the students in the fall,” Souza said.
The main difference between Cal Poly’s first attempt at the program two years ago and now is that the new Safe Ride will not only be a sober ride program for those who have been drinking but will also be opened up for those that may need a ride late at night after the buses have stopped or perhaps an escort back to the dorms instead of walking at night. This is why it is called a “safe” ride program rather than just a “sober” ride program.
“I think this is definitely another outlet to get people from driving drunk and would be very useful if you live fairly far away,” nutrition senior Brigette Bonfiglio said. “I’m glad they are trying this again.”
Business administration junior Blake Freeman agreed with Bonfiglio. “I support Safe Ride returning to SLO,” Freeman said. “I think it is a good alternative that students should have available.”
Until Safe Ride gets running sometime this fall, students still have many options to get a ride home. In addition to the SLO Transit, which makes its final loop through campus at 10 p.m., the University Police Department’s Escort Van service offers rides up to a mile off campus until midnight.