By Sarah SumadiThe Daily Northwestern
Although Northwestern’s SafeRide serves almost nine square miles of Evanston, drivers rarely have to go far.
SafeRide driver Drew Price, a McCormick sophomore, took one student three blocks west from the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house to Maple and Emerson during his shift last Friday.
“What was that, like, a block?” another rider in the car remarked, laughing. Price soon dropped the rider and her friend off at Cold Stone Creamery – also just three blocks from their pickup in the sorority quads.
“I once drove someone from (Delta Gamma) to Plex … those rides are almost kind of embarrassing,” Price said. “But I don’t judge, I just drive.”
Price has been a SafeRide driver for almost a year and works about three shifts a week.
“One thing that struck me as odd is that people here are really aggressive drivers,” Price said. “Everyone I’ve met in the Midwest goes out of their way to give you directions and be friendly, but on the road, they’re pretty mean. I’m from California, so that’s saying something.”
Shifts are longer than most on-campus jobs, lasting about seven hours a night during daylight savings time. To pass the time, Price often listens to WNUR.
“They have this great indie rock show, so I called in last week to compliment them on their selection,” Price said. “They ended up calling SafeRide to request that I drive them home at the end of the show.”
Price makes conversation with almost all of his riders.
“I’ve got to be really, really tired not to talk to someone,” Price said. “It’s a good job for me, because I love seeing a little bit of everyone – people deep in thought going to the library or people going out to party – and I hear a neat little story every 10 minutes.”
Intoxicated riders are the most fun to chauffeur, Price said.
“Sometimes they yell out the window to friends or have little dance parties in the car,” Price said. “They’re always chatty and want to start a conversation right away. I’ve never been one to revel in the misadventures of drunk people. But when it’s late at night and it’s been a long shift, they’re entertaining.”
Price prefers to drive by himself, which can be a challenge on busy nights. Dispatchers radio the drivers their next pickups, but without another SafeRide employee in the passenger seat to write the schedule down, a ride can slip through the cracks. Price had to double back at around 9:20 on Friday because he realized he forgot a 9:00 pickup at Tech, which made his timetable run late.
“Usually I can work my way out of being late,” Price said. “It really keeps you on your toes to think of the quickest and best ways to get somewhere.”
Having class at 9 a.m. is rough if you’ve been driving until 3 a.m., Price said, so he usually tries to take a nap before his shift.
“(SafeRide drivers) get free coffee, tea and soda from Lisa’s Cafe while we’re working, so this job has given me a huge caffeine addiction,” Price said.
Sometimes there’s time at the beginning of a shift to grab dinner before calls start coming in, and each driver also gets a 30-minute paid break they can take at any point during the shift.
“Some people take their break at 11:30, stop at Jewel and get their grocery shopping done,” Price said. “It’s also nice to break really late in the shift, go home, take a shower, finish out your rides in your pajamas and flop right in bed.”
Reach Sarah Sumadi at [email protected].
