NEWS

Late-night Safe Ride buses offer two routes off campus

By STEPHANIE GUNTER
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- The Safe Ride Program, a late-night, off-campus bus service overseen by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students, has begun its first full year of operation with expanded routes.

The fare-free buses run 30-minute round trips from 10:15 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, said student Anup Dashputre, program director. Anyone may ride. Service is provided through a contract with Chapel Hill Transit on two routes originating on Franklin Street.

The Safe Ride J Route, mapped on page 44 of the 2003-2004 Chapel Hill Transit Route Guide, covers Merritt Mill and Smith Level roads to Rock Creek Apartments, then serves areas in Carrboro and along the N.C. 54 Bypass.

The Safe Ride T Route (page 45) proceeds from Franklin Street north on Airport Road to Timberlyne Shopping Center, then south on Airport and Hillsborough Street back to Franklin.

"The goal of this service is to add to and continue to improve the overall personal safety and accessibility of campus and community-residence students to downtown Chapel Hill and surrounding area businesses and resources," said Dashputre.

Funding comes from student fees devoted to transportation, allocated through UNC Student Government; a grant from the Carolina Parents Council; and UNC’s Division of Student Affairs and Department of Public Safety.

Begun as a pilot program last February, Safe Ride connects with late-night transportation options on campus. Students can reach Safe Ride stops on Franklin Street via Point-to-Point (P2P) service operated by the Department of Public Safety or the Safe Shuttle operated by Student Government:

• Point-to-Point express service, free to students, operates on a fixed route from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. nightly.
  
  
• Point-to-Point demand service, available at night to UNC students, faculty and staff, is accessed by calling 962-7867 (962-P-TO-P) and providing your UNC personal identification number.
  
  
• Student Government's free Safe Shuttle operates from midnight to 3 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays. A van with a large "S" on the windshield leaves the Frank Porter Graham Student Union at 20 and 40 minutes past the hour and takes students wherever they need to go on campus. It also can stop at nearby sorority houses. Details are on the Student Government Web site at http://www.ibiblio.org/sg/.

For more information about the Safe Ride Program, contact Dashputre at (919) 260-1711 or anupd@email.unc.edu. For more information on P2P, visit the Department of Public Safety Web site at http://www.dps.unc.edu/dps/alternatives/point2point.htm.

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(Gunter, of Raleigh, is a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication.)

Contact: Anup Dashputre, (919) 260-1711 or anupd@email.unc.edu; H. Dean Blackburn, faculty adviser, (919) 966-2040, blackbrn@email.unc.edu

News Services Contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589, laura_toler@unc.edu