Many services are provided by the University of Wisconsin to ensure students’ safety on campus; however, in the wake of the recent sexual assaults on campus, some students are calling to question the effectiveness of these resources.
UW sophomore Ashley Gehrke said the recent incidences should be a warning sign for SAFEride and other SAFE services.
“Some of the assaults that took place last weekend could have possibly been avoided if people used the services UW has,” Gehrke said. “They should be more available on our campus.”
Union Cabs, which has a contract with UW, is the exclusive provider for the service. Union Cabs bid and won the rights to provide SAFEride to students. Operating manager of Union Cabs David Lee said his company does not make up SAFEride regulations, such as only two passengers per car, four rides per semester for each student and a two-mile boundary.
“Although we do provide the SAFEride service, we still do more cash business,” Lee said.
Another local cab service, Madison Taxi, said SAFEride does not affect its business at all.
“We get a lot of calls from a lot of students,” Rick Nesvacil, manager of Madison Taxi, said. Madison Taxi is not affiliated with the SAFEride system. However, Nesvacil said the SAFEride system could work better if all of the cab services in Madison were utilized in the program.
Nevacil said Madison Taxi does deal with a lot of intoxicated passengers, but it does not pose a serious problem. He said the perk to riding with Madison Taxi is that more people are allowed in the vehicle, as opposed to the two allowed in SAFEride cabs.
“I don’t call SAFEride anymore just because it is a hassle,” UW sophomore Megan Duckett said. “It is just way easier to call a real cab. It also takes a long time to get a SAFEride cab, and most of the time I am not where they provide service.”
“The program is hard to manage,” Lance Lunsway, director of UW transportation services said. “At times, we are overwhelmed with calls. We experienced some cuts because some felt the services started to be used more for convenience than for safety.”
Lunsway said the main reason for the limitations on services such as SAFEride are in place due to lack of funding. Lunsway, however, is determined to change this. He will be meeting with SSFC and ASM in order to convince them of the necessity of the services.
Presently, the budget for all SAFE programs including SAFEbus, SAFEride and SAFEwalk is between $150,000 and $200,000, according to Lunsway. He said because of budget cuts, rides have been cut down from eight to four per student each semester.
“It is advertised well. I know the number off the top of my head,” Gehrke said, adding that because of the lack of success her friends have had with the service, she has never called. “I just call a regular cab or walk.”
Lunsway said UW is now analyzing SAFE services in order to make them more effective.
He said a main concern is educating students on what services the university provides.
Other universities, such as University of Nebraska-Omaha and Southern Methodist University, have programs subsidized and operated by students alone. This is something Lunsway plans on proposing to UW.
Lunsway stressed that people are responsible for their own safety. He cited a survey conducted by UW in which a large percentage of people said they did not think they were responsible for their own safety. According to Lunsway, this is part of the problem. He said SAFE services are not legitimate substitutes for the police department.
“We are not the police,” Lunsway said. “If there is a true emergency, the person should call the police.” He added the police will give free rides to the hospital or University Health Services to those who are in need.
Most sexual assaults happen between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m., which still leaves a three-hour gap of danger for students, according to Lunsway. He also said most assaults occur within apartment buildings and dormitories, such as the ones that occurred at UW in the past two days.
UW offers three primary SAFE services: SAFEwalk, SAFEride and SAFEbus. The only time students can receive a ride from SAFEride is when they are not near a SAFEbus stop or within SAFEwalk distance. There is about a two-mile boundary for the SAFEride service.
SAFEride is available from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and from 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. SAFEwalk is provided from 6:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The 80, 81 and 82 bus routes run until about 1 a.m. for the SAFEbus program.
