Tulane’s Associated Student Body and its Student Affairs Body instituted a Safe-Ride shuttle-van service that provides Tulane and Loyola students transportation to on- and-off campus locations in the Uptown area during late-night hours.
It’s meant to provide a safe environment and late-night safety to its students during weekends, according to The Tulane Hullabaloo. The shuttle operates Thursday through Monday between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. until the end of the fall semester.
The shuttle route includes portions of St. Charles Avenue, Broadway Avenue, Magazine Street, Jefferson Avenue and Napoleon Avenue. Students can flag down the shuttle-van labeled “Tulane Safe-Ride” with amber-lights along its route and be dropped off at any on- or off-campus location – there are no designated stops.
Students must provide a valid university ID prior to riding.
The shuttle is free and limited to seven passengers a trip. It will not pick up or deliver students to any bars. The armed driver, provided by Admiral Security, will instead pick up at the corner nearest to the bar and may deny any unruly passengers due to safety reasons.
If a passenger is too sick or intoxicated to ride, the driver will not leave the passenger but will dispatch the university’s police department and seek medical attention. Food consumption and beverages are prohibited inside the vehicle.
Loyola University created a similar program, called the “Prowler” during the 2003-2004 academic year.
The shuttle was running Friday and Saturday nights and picking up students from the turnaround next to Budding Hall and local corner stops including Tuck’s and The Boot, said Student Government Association President Daniel Green. The trial-run program faced insurance issues and was not cost-effective.
“It wasn’t widely-used and it proved to be too costly,” Green said. He said the program’s price tag was nearly $14,000 with an average of 10 to 15 passengers per weekend.
The program was terminated due to the expensive costs and lack of participation by students. Students pay $40 (full-time) or $20 (part-time) to SGA each semester to provide for different services, which is included in the annual tuition fee.
Loyola University Police and SGA were unaware that Tulane’s Safe-Ride program was open to Loyola students. SGA is currently investigating the topic and hopes to promote it around campus and keep it active. SGA said it looks forward to collaborating with Tulane’s shuttle service to reduce costs and provide services that students deserve.
Rosie Dao can be reached at [email protected].
