Recent additions to the SafeRides program began running again this semester, only to face opposition from residents of Burleith and West Georgetown.
The shuttles run in continuous loops in Burlieth and West Georgetown from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thursday and as late as 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. The original SafeRides vans still operate every night.
Several University neighbors to the north and east do not approve of the shuttles because they were not consulted about their implementation.
“The main beef of the community is that it wasn’t involved,” Burleith Citizens Association Vice President Jen Perry said.
The University’s Department of Public Safety implemented the program Dec. 8 as an extension of an already approved program, rather than a new proposal, Dave Morrell, vice president for University Safety said.
“We already had an existing program, SafeRides,” Morrell said. “But DPS didn’t have the resources to meet the demand of the number of phone calls we were getting, so we supplemented it.”
Lenore Rubino, Burleith Citizens Association president, worries that the shuttle will exacerbate the noise problem stemming from the late night parties in Burleith.
“There will be students congregating on corners waiting for the shuttles and at that time of the evening it might make for more problems,” Rubino said.
Some worry that the shuttle bus will attract more people to party in Burleith or West Georgetown
“If there’s a party off-campus, you might not want to walk over there, but if you can use the shuttle, maybe you’ll go,” Perry said, echoing concerns of some of her fellow residents.
Despite residents’ opinions and very recent crime statistics reporting decreased crime in Georgetown, Morrell insists on the shuttle’s importance in guaranteeing student safety.
“The shuttle is absolutely necessary,” he said. “Just last fall, we had eight students robbed and two seriously assaulted; already, someone was mugged this weekend.”
A “working group” of residents, students and Morrell will meet today to respond to the concerns of community members, according to Morrell, Rubino and Perry.
Area residents complaining about it are some of the most informed about the program, however.
Though students received multiple emails from DPS last semester about the increased shuttle service, several students say they do not understand the new service.
“Do you mean the APO Shuttle?” Emily Danker-Feldman (CAS ‘07), a Burleith resident, said, when asked if she had ridden the new shuttle, confusing it for the nightly van service provided by the community service fraternity APO.
Morrell sees SafeRides shuttles as an evolving program that may change depending on ridership, but should be increasingly effective in meeting its aims as it establishes itself.
“Eventually, the shuttles will run like a train that we can all count on, and the students will take it because they know it’s a reliable service,” he said.
