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Campus Safety adjusts to increased shuttle use
December 07, 2007
The popularity of the Campus Safety Safe Walk/Safe Ride program has grown rapidly in the past two years, leading to some unexpected growing pains.
The service provides walking escort services on campus and shuttle services within an established perimeter around campus. With more students using the service, wait times for shuttles and those abusing the system have increased.
“We want people to understand that the program has grown so quickly, we have to put some parameters on it,” said Campus Safety Director Jesus Villahermosa.
While those exact restrictions are still being determined, Villahermosa stressed that the program’s primary purpose is to increase safety on and around campus. It is not a personal shuttle service, and it can’t be used as transport to a party or bar because that violates the Student Conduct Code.
“I don’t think people realize how much of a privilege (this service) is,” he said. “Other universities and colleges don’t have a comparable service.”
Few colleges and universities boast such a comprehensive program. Most offer only limited services that don’t compare with the 24 hours a day, seven days a week program offered by PLU, he explained.
During the last academic year, Campus Safety provided 26,650 safe rides or walks – nearly three times more than the previous year. The number counts each person on every trip, so those who use the service multiple times are counted for each use. This year’s numbers are keeping pace with last year, and Villahermosa expects it to reach nearly 30,000.
The drastic increase in use can be partially attributed to the expansion of the shuttle’s perimeter. After a string of robberies last February, it was extended north from Tule Lake Road to 112th Street South and east from Spanaway Loop Road to Pacific Avenue.
Additionally, more students who live within the perimeter are opting to ride the shuttle to campus instead of fighting with the parking lots, said Jeff Wilgus, assistant director of Campus Safety.
“They don’t want to circle the parking lots for 20 minutes for a spot,” he explained. “They wait 10 minutes for us and oftentimes can go straight to the building.”
The addition of a Toyota Prius to the Campus Safety vehicle fleet this summer has helped alleviate some of the growing pains. It has also furthered the university’s commitment to sustainability and saved the department money, Villahermosa said.
Traditionally, the department used three vans for the shuttle service and their regular patrols of campus. When a van needed maintenance, it cost Campus Safety money to rent replacement vehicles.
With the Prius in play, the three vans are now rotated into service, leaving a back up van standing by and dramatically reducing rental car costs.
“The savings themselves could have bought the Prius,” Wilgus said.
The Prius is largely used on campus, where the speed limit is less than 20 miles per hour. At that speed, the car operates solely on electrical power, and Villahermosa estimates the vehicle gets about 600 miles to a tank of gas.
“The reason we got it was sustainability,” he explained. “Be friends to the earth, that’s what the (PLU) mission statement states, and so we’re friends to the earth.”
Eventually, Villahermosa would like to see the entire Campus Safety vehicle fleet transition to hybrid vehicles.
To request a walking escort or shuttle, contact Campus Safety at ext. 7441. Students should call 10 to 15 minutes in advance and be prepared to present their PLU ID to the driver upon pick-up.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.
“We want people to understand that the program has grown so quickly, we have to put some parameters on it,” said Campus Safety Director Jesus Villahermosa.
While those exact restrictions are still being determined, Villahermosa stressed that the program’s primary purpose is to increase safety on and around campus. It is not a personal shuttle service, and it can’t be used as transport to a party or bar because that violates the Student Conduct Code.
“I don’t think people realize how much of a privilege (this service) is,” he said. “Other universities and colleges don’t have a comparable service.”
Few colleges and universities boast such a comprehensive program. Most offer only limited services that don’t compare with the 24 hours a day, seven days a week program offered by PLU, he explained.
During the last academic year, Campus Safety provided 26,650 safe rides or walks – nearly three times more than the previous year. The number counts each person on every trip, so those who use the service multiple times are counted for each use. This year’s numbers are keeping pace with last year, and Villahermosa expects it to reach nearly 30,000.
The drastic increase in use can be partially attributed to the expansion of the shuttle’s perimeter. After a string of robberies last February, it was extended north from Tule Lake Road to 112th Street South and east from Spanaway Loop Road to Pacific Avenue.
Additionally, more students who live within the perimeter are opting to ride the shuttle to campus instead of fighting with the parking lots, said Jeff Wilgus, assistant director of Campus Safety.
“They don’t want to circle the parking lots for 20 minutes for a spot,” he explained. “They wait 10 minutes for us and oftentimes can go straight to the building.”
The addition of a Toyota Prius to the Campus Safety vehicle fleet this summer has helped alleviate some of the growing pains. It has also furthered the university’s commitment to sustainability and saved the department money, Villahermosa said.
Traditionally, the department used three vans for the shuttle service and their regular patrols of campus. When a van needed maintenance, it cost Campus Safety money to rent replacement vehicles.
With the Prius in play, the three vans are now rotated into service, leaving a back up van standing by and dramatically reducing rental car costs.
“The savings themselves could have bought the Prius,” Wilgus said.
The Prius is largely used on campus, where the speed limit is less than 20 miles per hour. At that speed, the car operates solely on electrical power, and Villahermosa estimates the vehicle gets about 600 miles to a tank of gas.
“The reason we got it was sustainability,” he explained. “Be friends to the earth, that’s what the (PLU) mission statement states, and so we’re friends to the earth.”
Eventually, Villahermosa would like to see the entire Campus Safety vehicle fleet transition to hybrid vehicles.
To request a walking escort or shuttle, contact Campus Safety at ext. 7441. Students should call 10 to 15 minutes in advance and be prepared to present their PLU ID to the driver upon pick-up.
University Communications staff writer Megan Haley compiled this report. Comments, questions, ideas? Please contact her at ext. 8691 or at haleymk@plu.edu. Photo by University Photographer Jordan Hartman.