The Traveler

Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Larry Ash Students and other bus riders wait in line to board one of the UA buses last week. Daily bus routes, as well as the Safe Ride program, are organized in part by the UA Transit and Parking Department.

When it comes to safety, the Safe Ride program is available to provide UA students protection, convenience and peace of mind. And because of a recently awarded $21,000 grant from the Women's Giving Circle, the program is now able to expand through the purchase of a 24-passenger bus that also can carry two handicapped riders.

"I think Safe Ride is a wonderful idea, and I am impressed that the university is so cautious about student safety," UA student Melanie Kyles said. "I stay late in Fayetteville quite often for meetings, plays, etc., and I don't like the idea of walking out to the parking lot at night when I'm alone. The buses stop running, and Safe Ride is a secure back-up method for making it back to my car."

The Safe Ride program operates 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The program, which is supervised by the student-run Safe Ride Committee, offers students a safe alternative to driving or walking within Fayetteville city limits.

But despite the convenience and safety Safe Ride offers, some students think the program has room to improve.

UA student Jerra Nalley said she thinks the Safe Ride program could be significantly improved by increasing the distance it covers.

"I just know from previous experiences that it is extremely hard to get a ride home from any off-campus party, and it would definitely make Fayetteville a lot safer," she said.

Many students also complain that waiting for Safe Ride can be inconvenient, with students recalling everything from Safe Ride taking 10 minutes to arrive to never showing up at all.

Katherine Christenbury, a UA business student, said she has been affected by the time problem before.

"Many times, if my friends and I are at a party and we decide to go home, and we call Safe Ride and they say the wait is going to be very long, we will just drive home," she said.  

Chris Hearnsbeger, a student in biological sciences, said he has never used Safe Ride.

Continued...

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