The Department of Public Safety has denied rumors that the Safety Shuttle system is returning to campus.

The Campus Shuttle replaced the Safety Shuttle program at the beginning of this year after DPS conducted an evaluation of the old system and determined a change needed to be made.

The old system operated on a call-by-call basis: students in need of transportation called in to DPS to request a car to pick them up in any specific location. The new Campus Shuttle works on a loop, with two shuttles making pre-determined stops at set intervals of time.

According to Chief of Public Safety Dolores Danser, the main reason for the switch was the backlog of requests caused by the large volume of students calling in for rides. This backlog caused fewer people to use the service last year than in previous years, said Danser. DPS tried to combat the backlog in a number of ways, including using the driver as a dispatcher, increasing the number of drivers and, eventually, hiring a student dispatcher. Despite these improvements, waiting times were sometimes up to an hour and a half. These waits caused people to cancel their ride or abandon it entirely. According to Danser, many students also filed complaints about the system.

As for the Campus Shuttle, the route was planned meticulously, says Danser: “…we pulled the records from the beginning of the shuttle [system], and we looked at four years of data, where the great majority of the stops were, and then we identified the stops that were the most heavily used..and we developed a route… that would include all of those stops.” Danser maintained that the route is not set in stone.  DPS takes input from students and drivers  in the current trial-and-error stage. As of right now, the stops include Drayer Circle,  Adams/Witwer, Morgan Circle, the Carlisle Diner, Reed /Cherry Streets, ATS Lot, Factory Apts., 25/27 W. High Street, Denny/Stuart and Walmart. The most popular stop is Walmart. DPS is also considering creating a stop closer to the library in the future.

Danser acknowledges that the shuttle can get behind at times. The Campus Shuttle can be re-routed to take a student to the hospital if no other service is available, which may put the shuttle behind schedule. This may change in the future, however, due to a possible agreement with Uber in the area for hospital transportation. Danser also says that the use of the student declining balance for Uber may be on the table.

The switch from the Safety Shuttle has also saved money for the school, due to the lack of a need for a student dispatcher.

Danser says that there have been no complaints so far, beyond an op-ed in last week’s issue of The Dickinsonian citing the lateness of the shuttle and insufficient communication. These issues are being taken into account, says Danser.

Students with questions or suggestions about the route should contact Lieutenant Joe Fazio, who is in charge of the program, at [email protected].