When someone in dire need finds a hot meal in a soup kitchen, that’s what we call well-placed emergency backup. When a lady in a fur coat brings her Ugg-clad children in for the meal and takes seconds, that’s what we call a free lunch.

The line between emergency backup and a free lunch is being further clarified at UW this semester as ASM makes a significant cutback to the SAFEride Cab program.

Instead of four free cab rides every month, students will have access to just six per semester on the seg. fee dime. While the cut may put a crimp in some cab-happy lifestyles, it is both necessary and appropriate.

The cab program, which acts as a supplement to the readily available SAFEwalk and SAFEride Bus programs, was over budget in the last fiscal year by $50,000. On a budget that was only $100,000 to begin with, that’s not only a costly problem — it’s ridiculous. This cutback is fundamentally important to the responsible use of student dollars on a supplemental program.

But more importantly, reducing the number of rides students are allowed per semester is totally reasonable and responsible when considering the actual purpose of the program, which is emergency help.

It is a serious societal problem that the streets are often unsafe late at night for anyone, male or female. It’s also pretty inconvenient to have to walk home or find alternate transportation after the busses stop running or when it’s cold outside.

But this program isn’t meant to compensate for these problems and allow students to habitually live as if these challenges don’t exist.

The purpose of the SAFEride Cab program is to help students in an emergency, or at least in a bind. It’s logical for students to fund a program that helps out for the few hours after the busses stop running at 1:30 a.m. It’s logical for students to pitch in for a cab ride when you lost track of time and don’t have the money for a cab. But it’s just silly to expect the program to cover 16 of those instances per semester.

Only 150 students total will be affected by the reduction in the program, and while they may have to change their schedules or eat the cost of a cab more frequently, it’s a necessary change. There’s just no such thing as a free lunch.