Cal Poly’s Escort Van – formerly dropping students off anywhere within a half-mile of campus on Sunday through Thursday nights – is now restricting service only to the campus itself.

The Cal Poly UPD Escort Van has provided a critical service to students, which includes:

Enabling off-campus students to attend evening on-campus classes and activities which would otherwise leave them with an unsafe return home, especially for the female population.

which would otherwise leave them with an unsafe return home, especially for the female population. Providing a safer alternative to the bus system by dropping students off right outside their apartments.

by dropping students off right outside their apartments. Running later than city busses , allowing students to participate in nighttime events and activities which may extend beyond 10pm.

, allowing students to participate in nighttime events and activities which may extend beyond 10pm. Providing for the safety of the entire student population, not just on-campus residents.

By signing, the students, teachers, and parents request that:

The Escort Van’s off-campus services not be cut

The Escort Van’s service be expanded to include Friday and Saturday nights

to include Friday and Saturday nights The safety of all students, especially the female population, be considered in the sanctioning, provision, and/or mandating of evening classes, exams, jobs, and activities that should be available to all students without concern for their safety while returning home.



If you agree that the safety of our off-campus students is worth the expense of less than $1 per student per quarter, please join us in signing this petition and forward it to parents, friends, and teachers who we hope will share our concern.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Why the shuttle is important

The Cal Poly UPD Escort Van has provided an important service to students for over a decade. It has enabled off campus students, especially female ones, the privilege and enjoyment of evening and late-night on-campus activities and resources that would otherwise leave them in an unsafe situation while returning home. Common activities include:

Evening and night time classes

Clubs (the vast majority meet at night)

Jobs on campus

Studying and socializing out with friends

Studying at the library or the union

Taking 7pm – 10pm finals

Without this service, many students living off campus – which is perhaps half of the student body – will have to resort to riskier methods to get home, including walking or biking alone in the dark. While some students may be comfortable with that, the majority of the Escort Van’s current users are women who do not feel safe with the alternatives available. Those who resort to these run a much higher risk of dangers associated with solitary night-time travel including assault, mugging, and rape. It should also be noted that one of the most popular routes includes walking across Santa Rosa (Hwy 1), which is reasonably safe during the daytime, but presents a dangerous situation for nighttime drivers and foot traffic alike.

Moreover, with stressful schedules and demanding classes, campus events and activities that carry on into the evening provide students with an opportunity for involvement and much-needed relaxation, further promoting individual emotional, mental, and physical well-being.

If Cal Poly is committed to providing equal opportunity for its students – on and off campus, male and female alike – it is necessary to reinstate, if not expand, the off-campus shuttle service.

Alternatives suggested by the UPD and why they’re not reasonable substitutes:

The UPD, in response to messages over the recent changes, suggested several alternatives. They are as follows:

SLO Safe Ride Home

While this is the most viable late-night option for student use, picking up individuals with little to no advanced booking, it costs a minimum of $5 per person, unlike the Escort Van which is covered by student fees. However, many students ride the shuttle one or more times per week. For students who previously used the shuttle, that could quickly amount to several hundred dollars per quarter!

SLO Transit, the city’s bus system

While the bus system might be a viable solution for the earlier hours of the night, it doesn’t run as late as the Escort Van operates. Of the ones that serve our campus, Route 4 begins its last run at 10:05pm; Route 6A leaves at 10:10pm; Route 6B leaves at 10:32pm, following a route similar to that of the near-campus portion of Route 4. If a student living off campus wishes to attend a nighttime event on campus (such as a club, concert, or meeting), he or she is forced to choose between staying to the end of the event- especially if it runs right until or slightly past the scheduled 10pm end time- and finding an alternate method home. Similarly, students with evening jobs on campus, visiting friends on-campus, or preferring to study in the library must curtail their nighttime activities. In contrast, the Escort Van runs until midnight, allowing an additional two hours of flexibility. However, even during the busses’ operational hours, there are several drawbacks to the bus system. Most notably, the Escort Van drops students off right outside their homes, whereas bus stops leave students to walk five minutes or more alone in the dark to reach their home. The van also accesses areas near campus where the bus system doesn’t have any nearby stops.

SLO Regional Transit, the county bus system

The regional transit – like the SLO bus system – is based on a fixed route. However, it is intended as a regional transit system for the entire SLO County. Consequently, it is not an intended as a transit option for students wishing a ride from campus to the local apartments. SLO RTA also offers a program called Dial A Ride, but this service does not include Cal Poly; it only serves Nipomo, Paso Robles, and Templeton.

Taxicabs

Taxi service is unmentioned by the UPD but bears consideration nonetheless. SLO does not have many taxi services and most are not acceptable as an option. Some, such as Uber, are unregulated and considered largely unsafe. Others only pick up at designated points (of which Cal Poly is not among them). Of the remaining few, their prices are the same or more expensive than SLO Safe Ride, with the additional disadvantage of a longer wait or even mandatory pre-booking to guarantee a ride.

Other possible solutions:

Students acknowledge that it is important to have the Escort Van available for students living on-campus, and appreciate the additional pick up points, but the service “expansion” should not trade off convenience to on-campus students for additional risk to the students off-campus, who typically make up approximately a quarter to fully half of the shuttle’s users. The university police has stated that their two vans would be picking up at more places which would use up the extra time needed to stop off campus. A few of the ways the UPD could accommodate the increase in demand without sacrificing their off campus service:

Providing a third van , dedicated to the off-campus students only, or having all three shuttles making off campus runs with the third van offsetting the increased demand in pick up points and riders. This cost could be covered by a minor increase in tuition to all students as part of registration fees (just as the university pays for the student usage of the SLO bus transit system) or a usage charge like that of the SLO bus transit, where students must have the requisite flat rate on hand or a prepaid shuttle pass (weekly, quarterly, or yearly).

, dedicated to the off-campus students only, or having all three shuttles making off campus runs with the third van offsetting the increased demand in pick up points and riders. This cost could be covered by a minor increase in tuition to all students as part of registration fees (just as the university pays for the student usage of the SLO bus transit system) or a usage charge like that of the SLO bus transit, where students must have the requisite flat rate on hand or a prepaid shuttle pass (weekly, quarterly, or yearly). If the cost of acquiring an additional van is an issue, the UPD could organize a contract with SLO Safe Ride or other similar ride providers to meet off campus students’ needs with a prepaid quarterly amount. Contracting SLO Safe Ride for an hourly service during the shuttle’s normal operating hours would cost only $300 per night or $14,700 per quarter. Although it sounds like a lot of money, spread out over Cal Poly’s approximately 20,000 students, that amounts to a little less than $0.75 per student, which could easily be tacked on to tuition fees, the same way Cal Poly currently covers the student usage of the SLO bus system.

with a prepaid quarterly amount. Contracting SLO Safe Ride for an hourly service during the shuttle’s normal operating hours would cost only $300 per night or $14,700 per quarter. Although it sounds like a lot of money, spread out over Cal Poly’s approximately 20,000 students, that amounts to a little less than $0.75 per student, which could easily be tacked on to tuition fees, the same way Cal Poly currently covers the student usage of the SLO bus system. Keeping the current number of vans, they could have the two shuttles make an off-campus-only run twice a night (such as 10:40pm and 11:40pm) to accommodate those students who would like to remain on campus later than the bus system permits, while still predominately focusing on its increased on-campus services.



If none of the above alternatives are of interest to the university, a commission of concerned students could meet with university officials to work out an acceptable solution

We are not looking for a means of transport to and from campus for off-campus residents, but rather a means to provide for a safe way to return from campus once the sun has set. Since the university cannot provide on-campus housing for all of its students, it should consider the needs of all of its students. This is a matter of safety, not convenience, and should be given the weight and attention it deserves.