By Sarah SumadiThe Daily Northwestern
The job description for SafeRide drivers doesn’t include cleaning up vomit – but that’s just what Tasneem Chithiwala found herself doing her first time in the car.
One of the three drunk passengers in the car threw up on both the driver and Chithiwala, who was riding in the passenger seat.
“We cleaned up as much as we could and dropped them off,” said Chithiwala, a Medill senior. “I was not pleased.”
Incidents like this prompted SafeRide to impose several service restrictions to protect its drivers and to reduce wait times.
Starting Monday, students will have to show they go to Northwestern, most likely by providing their NetIDs, when they call to request a ride.
The measure will help drivers and dispatchers keep track of students who damage their cars or who are disruptive during rides.
“We’ve had several people who were extremely rude to our dispatchers and threatened our drivers,” said Ben Brenner, SafeRide’s coordinator. “These are long-standing issues we needed to take care of.”
To cut down on wait times, SafeRide no longer will take groups of more than three students, and students traveling in groups must travel a minimum of two blocks to get a ride.
There will be no more pick-ups from downtown Evanston locations on NU’s Purple Route if students are traveling to another stop on the route.
The rule is aimed at students leaving bars such as The Keg of Evanston, 810 Grove St., and Tommy Nevin’s Pub and Restaurant, 1450 Sherman Ave. Brenner said students that request to be picked up from bars often don’t show up for rides, wasting the time of SafeRide drivers and other passengers.
“People forget that we’re here to provide a safe means of getting around, and SafeRide is supposed to be used in conjunction with the shuttles or walking in groups,” Brenner said.
SafeRide has received 900 to 1,000 calls per night this quarter – twice as many as last winter’s average tally of 400 calls, Brenner said. Wait times are longer this quarter, as well. Students wait for a ride for more than 30 minutes on a typical week night, compared to an average wait time of 25.5 minutes last winter.
The restrictions are designed to keep SafeRide from becoming a taxi service, said Mary Desler, dean of student affairs.
“It’s not here to take people to and from parties,” Desler said. “We care about the safety of that one person going from the library to their off-campus apartment late at night. A group of 10 or 20 people will be okay walking.”
Students who are disruptive or threatening will be referred to Desler’s office, and those who damage the cars will be charged a fee.
SafeRide dispatchers met with Desler and Brenner in January to come up with the new regulations and then presented the changes to Associated Student Government, University Police and William Banis, vice president for student affairs.
“It’s been a very student-driven process,” Desler said. “These changes are coming right from the people who work in SafeRide, and there’s no better place to get advice than from students.”
SafeRide driver Bri Zika said her passengers are typically well-behaved but that she understands the need for increased security.
“I think the majority of drivers would prefer to drive people who need to take (SafeRide) to be safe,” said Zika, a Music and Weinberg senior.
Since anyone can find a student’s NetID through NU’s online directory, privacy shouldn’t be a concern, Brenner said.
In the past, riders needed only to provide a name and pick-up and drop-off locations.
“They (will) know who you are, and you’ll have to be careful,” said driver Claire Neumann, a Communication sophomore. “There won’t be as much privacy.”
Drivers began distributing informational cards with the new rules to their passengers Wednesday night.
Students like McCormick sophomore Gracie Klock said the changes to the service seem reasonable.
“It makes sense – SafeRide is supposed to be for safety, not convenience,” she said. “It’s not really something for people to use when it’s too cold to walk to where you’re going to get drunk.”
Reach Sarah Sumadi at [email protected].
