Courtesy of the UR Students’ Association
Currently, SafeRide, an SA funded program, transports students to and from any of the following locations: ITS, Carlson, Todd Union, Hillcourt, Southside, Riverview and the UR Medical Center. From the hours of 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., this service is vital to the student body, as travelling outside during this time is or feels unsafe, regardless of Bluelight phones and group travel. With an increasing number of students living off-campus, SafeRide should be expanded to include the area covered by the Gold Line shuttle.
This area, considered by the University to be a place for extra safety precautions, is also an off-campus living area close enough that students do not necessarily need a car to commute to class. While the Gold Line runs until 12:30 a.m. Monday through Wednesday and 1:30 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, this time frame excludes students who certainly will be staying in the library later to finish their work.
Those who say that students living on-campus deserve access to the benefits of SafeRide because they pay for it, are correct; however, students living off-campus also pay. It is funded by the University, meaning all students pay for the service, therefore all should have access to it.
Moreover, to calm the clamor that this expansion, once started, will not cease, SafeRide should only expand to the Gold Line neighborhood. To feasibly live off-campus anywhere else requires a car, thus those students are able to go home on their own, safely.
If SafeRide seeks to live up to its namesake of safety, it must extend itself to include off-campus areas along the Gold Line.
