Although the new co-ed transportation service Night Ride is not starting until July 1, there has already been confusion about the program’s effect on the all-women’s Project Saferide shuttle. Passengers can rest assured, however, that the Saferide program remains the same.
Night Ride makes it debut on campus in reaction to a recent settlement with the federal Office of Civil Rights and in light of campus safety issues.
“Saferide and Night Ride have the same goal of assault prevention,” Saferide publicity coordinator Casey Rohter said.
The main difference between the two is Night Ride is co-ed with safety as its main focus, while Saferide remains women-only for sexual assault prevention. Rohter said while Night Ride targets more the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population and minority men, it doesn’t discriminate against any men who feel unsafe at night on campus.
The Night Ride program was developed in response to a settlement the University reached with OCR on Oct. 26. OCR found that the University was in violation of Title IX of the Education Acts of 1972 because Saferide allows only women to drive and ride in vans. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal funds.
By allowing both men and women to ride on an equivalent service, the University expects OCR investigators to be satisfied that the school is abiding by Title IX guidelines. OCR is scheduled to evaluate the proposed Night Ride program at the end of this month. As for the Saferide program, its mission remains the same: Keeping women safe from sexual assault.
Rohter said the volunteer drivers will continue to be only women, and state law requires all drivers to pass a background check. Saferide currently has 45 volunteers per term. Although men do serve as Saferide volunteers, they act in more of a behind-the-scenes capacity, putting up fliers and serving as dispatchers.
“We provide a safe haven. We’re not out to bash men and say they’re unsafe,” Saferide volunteer coordinator Eve Rivinus said.
The 93 requests by males for Department of Public Safety escorts in 2001 also displays a need for increased safety for men, according to Saferide co-director Nikki Fancher.
Women can also be confident their personal information will remain confidential, even with the new program on board.
“Night Ride uses a separate radio to protect women,” Rivinus said. She thinks Night Ride simply gives students more options to travel worry-free.
“It’s rounding out campus transportation options by adding one more choice,” she said.
The Night Ride shuttle offers students advantages over other campus transportation options such as Lane Transit District, the Designated Driver Shuttle and the Department of Public Safety.
“Unlike LTD, we operate extended nighttime hours. … Unlike Designated Driver Shuttle, we start offering rides at dusk. … Unlike DPS, which offers escorts to students around campus, Night Ride maintains an extensive boundary,” Fancher said.
Both Project Saferide and Night Ride operate in a three-mile, or 10-15 minute, driving radius around campus. Unlike other campus transit programs, both services take people door-to-door, allowing no room for potential attacks.
For now, Saferide directors are overseeing Night Ride and hiring staff. Once Night Ride is up and running, however, a staff separate from Saferide will take over the program, and both will have their own budgets. So far, Night Ride has one van donated by DPS. Rohter said the budget has been fully funded for next year by the ASUO.
“We will be monitoring it to meet its goals and adjust it as need be,” Fancher said.