NEWS

Safe Ride Program launches weekend late-night off-campus bus services Feb. 6

CHAPEL HILL -- A student-led initiative called the Safe Ride Program will launch a pilot program beginning Feb. 6 that offers off-campus bus services during late-night hours three nights weekly for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill community.

The pilot program, serving students as well as interested faculty and staff, will run on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights during the spring semester, organizers said.

"The goal is to enhance the accessibility students on campus and off campus have to downtown Chapel Hill and surrounding businesses and resources," said Anup Dashputre, program director and a student organizer. "The service also aims to enhance pedestrian safety, decrease commuter traffic and parking congestion in the area, and to reduce the risks associated with potential impaired driving incidents for campus and community members."

Safe Ride will offer two routes. One will serve the Airport Road area up to the Timberlyne shopping center. The other route will cover the Merritt Mill Road/Smith Level Road areas to Rock Creek Apartments. The fare-free Chapel Hill Transit buses will run on 30-minute round trips, offering service on scheduled Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Service will be provided through a special contract with Chapel Hill Transit. Safe Ride is being funded under the auspices of UNC Student Government with student fees devoted to transportation.

Dasphutre said Safe Ride could make downtown and other town amenities more accessible by providing late-night transportation.

On-campus students who wish to watch a movie off campus could take a Point-to-Point (P2P) Bus – operated on campus by UNC’s Department of Public Safety -- to a Franklin Street stop, and within a few minutes board an off-campus Safe Ride bus to go to the area theater, Dasphutre said.

Or off-campus students who need to come on campus for an activity or the library could board a Safe Ride Bus at any Chapel Hill Transit stop along the initial preset routes, change buses at Franklin Street and use the P2P to get on campus, Dashputre said. That route uses Franklin Street as a transportation hub, he said.

"The service will also be of benefit to our Franklin Street businesses, as people will inevitably be stopping in the area when they use the service from one point to another," Dasphutre said.

Future service may be offered after the pilot phase of Safe Ride is evaluated. The program is currently being paid for by the Safety and Security Committee of UNC’s Student Government and by the university’s Division of Student Affairs.

For more information, contact Dasphutre at (919) 260-1711, anupd@email.unc.edu.

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