A committee of the University of Wisconsin’s student government voted to cut a campus transportation student service during their Monday meeting, with members expressing agreement on its inefficiency but disagreeing on the timing of the decision.
In a vote of 5-3 -with five abstentions- the Student Services Finance Committee cut funding for the campus Safe Arrival For Everyone taxi cab service, which was budgeted at about $140,000 for the past fiscal year.
SSFC Vice Chair Chase Wilson, who is also a Student Transportation Board member, said the service should be cut because it is a redundant service, given the operation of the SAFEbus and SAFEwalk programs.
He said ridership has also decreased each year, with a 30 percent decrease in usage from fiscal year 2010-11. For the current year to date, there has been an 18 percent decrease in the number of rides compared to the same period last year, according to a SAFE operations report.
Wilson added over 10 percent of the monthly ridership is comprised of SAFE walkers in the program getting rides home.
“The actual usage is very slim, and I’d call it very inefficient compared to the bus system,” Wilson said. “We’ve also heard of a lot of problems in terms of administering the service.”
Rep. Laura Checovich said another aspect to consider is the fact that much of the money paid by students for the service goes to University of Wisconsin Transportation salaries rather than back to students.
Checovich, who also serves on the Student Transportation Board, ultimately voted against the motion because she said she believed interested parties needed to be more time required to make a change. However, she said that when combined with the six-cab limit, students do not appear to use the service as a standard or regular form of transportation.
SSFC Secretary Ellie Bruecker said she agreed there are problems with usage and inefficiency, but with recent reports of crime and sexual assault on and near campus, she said she did not want to sacrifice any program for student safety.
Rep. Cale Plamann said he did not see cutting the service as a safety issue, because ultimately there are other more cost- effective cab services available to students without the cab service.
SSFC Chair Sarah Neibart said this change will be included in the overall segregated fee budget decision to be submitted to the Board of Regents by April 1.
Neibart also informed the committee she is working on her appeal regarding the non-allocable segregated fee budgets for the Wisconsin Union and Recreational Sports. She said UW System President Kevin Reilly will have 10 business days to decide if he will dismiss or approve the appeal and that if he dismisses it she will take it straight to the Board of Regents.
She said if the regents end up denying the appeal, she would sue them, with funding for the legal council to come from United Council.
Neibart also said the next steps in the reaction to a letter to Ward containing an informal appeal of SSFC’s decision not to fund the Multicultural Student Coalition are in Ward’s hands.
Neibart said she would file an appeal if Ward overrules SSFC’s decision.
