FEATURE
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Camped quarters: Sam Schlageck, 2008 graduate, is the head supervisor of both SafeRide and SafeBus. Schlageck spends most nights of the week either taking calls at the SafeRide headquarters or driving students to their destinations.
which oversees all KU transportation including the campus buses and Park and Ride. He explains that the problem with wait time probably won't be solved. Spending money to add more lines or have another person answering the calls wouldn't get the available transportation to riders any faster.
SafeRide began in 1986 under the name SecureCab. The initial program looked the same as SafeRide today, and had the same goals. KU on Wheels contracted with the City Cab Company, but when the company went bankrupt in 1987, Student Senate changed the program. SecureCab became Secure Shuttle, which was more like a bus route with 11 stops around Lawrence. Because of high costs and low ridership, Senate changed the system again in 1989, resulting in SafeRide in its current form, which has been running ever since.
In 2007, SafeRide switched contracting companies from the Lawrence Bus Company to MV Transportation. The new transportation company uses Toyota Prfus cars, which get better gas mileage. SafeBus uses the same KU on Wheels buses that run during the day on campus.
The operating costs of the program are completely paid by student fees. Every student at the University pays $10 per semester that goes directly to the SafeRide and SafeBus programs, but Meier says the fees will have to rise in the next few years to keep up with inflation.
On busy nights Sam often ends up driving either a car or a bus. Halfway through this Saturday evening he takes the car out to pick up students. He gets sick of arguing with people on the phone. He'd much rather be part of the action. Though it's a stressful job, he wouldn't do it if he didn't enjoy it. "I feel like it's redemption
for my college years," he says laughing as he walks out of the trailer to his Prius.
Sam graduated from the University last spring with a degree in industrial design and urban planning. He drove the T bus, which covers routes all over Lawrence, for a year and then applied to work with SafeRide. He is now the head supervisor of both SafeRide and SafeBus, even though the students he picks up are often no more than four years younger than he is. Sometimes he picks up someone he knows, which he says is a little awkward, but he shrugs it off. No one should be denied a ride, he says.
When Sam walks out to his Prius he switches
"It completely boggles my mind how alcohol can turn completely normal people into animals."
All SafeRide drivers go through two weeks of
modes, turning into a cautious, defensive driver. Riding with him is like being in driver's ed again. He sits up straight and keeps his focus. He slows down at stoplights as if anticipating that they will turn yellow at any second. He is wary of slow drivers and people who swerve. When you have a stranger's life in your hands — or rather your car — you have to be cautious.
Sam Schlageck, 2008 graduate
classroom training where they learn defensive driving. They are taught to anticipate and prepare for sticky situations to avoid accidents. Then they spend two weeks shadowing an older driver, learning the system and the streets. After the month of training, the driver is ready to go it alone. SafeBus drivers go through the same training, but they have to get their commercial driving license. This requires two additional weeks of training on how to drive a bus.
It's harder to find people willing to drive the bus, but Sam says he prefers it. While the shift is more intense — usually there are 20 to 30 people on the bus at a time — you get to see a lot more interesting things.
"Driving the bus is like the ultimate form of people watching," Sam says. On Halloween he volunteered to drive the bus because he wanted to see all the costumes. Although you get to see more people, it's also more difficult to control what happens on the bus. With no seatbelts and a lot more passengers, anything can happen. Fights break out and students try to drink or smoke on the bus, all of which is prohibited.
Driving the cars is more manageable because there are fewer passengers, but both the car and the bus have their drawbacks, such as passengers puking. Two to three times per week, somebody vomits on the bus or in the car. Vomit is a biohazard, and when someone throws up the driver has to take the vehicle back to base — at the corner of 31st Street and Haskell Avenue — and switch it out for a clean one. As supervisor, Sam is in charge of cleaning up the mess, which he says is the worst part of his job.
Drivers spend a lot of their night waiting on students to claim their ride. Drivers don't call students when they arrive; it is the students'
responsibility to anticipate the arrival. About half of the callers don't take their ride for various reasons. They might lose track of time or decide they want to stay longer. The drivers are instructed to wait five minutes, and if the student doesn't show up they move on to the next call.
Casey Prohaska, Olathe junior, has developed a system to ensure that she doesn't miss her ride. Once her request is accepted she listens to how long the wait is and then sets an alarm on her cell phone. If the wait is 30 minutes, she sets her alarm for 25. That way she doesn't have to keep checking her watch; the alarm reminds her when her ride is almost here. She hasn't missed a ride yet.
The person answering the phones often gets calls from students wondering where their rides are. Aaron explains that drunk time seems to go much faster than when you're sober. Sometimes it feels like you've been waiting forever, but only five minutes have passed. With these calls Aaron maintains his calm demeanor, telling callers their rides will be arriving shortly.
When students accept their ride, Sam writes down their destination and the time on a clipboard. He radios the dispatcher saying the passenger has been picked up, makes sure everyone has a seatbelt on and drives away. He loves when passengers talk with him. It makes the time go by faster. Sometimes they ask him about his night, if he's seen anything crazy or if it's been busy.
There are 20 drivers for SafeBus and SafeRide combined. Some are nontraditional students at the University; others are older. Sam says ideally he wants more students driving, but most don't
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