Campus organization Students for a Safe Ride has developed a mode of transportation that keeps students from driving drunk when going to the Square.
Safe Ride is a mode of transportation that keeps students from driving intoxicated when going to the Oxford Square. (Photo by Cameron Brooks
While the normal Oxford-University Transit (OUT) bus lines only run from Monday to Friday, Safe Ride’s “Safe Route” runs Thursday through Saturday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. The buses pick students up from residential buildings and take them to the Square and back, free of charge.
Senior Executive Supervisor of Safe Ride Gabriella Gonzaba said the program’s main drawback is its budget.
“Everyone loves to have a safe ride home, and if it’s free, it’s wonderful, but there is only so much you can do,” Gonzaba said. “We just don’t have the funds to maintain it every single day and to expand like we want to.”
The funds needed for Safe Ride help pay for expenses like bus maintenance and driver pay.
“There are around 300 students that ride Safe Ride a night,” President Natalie Truong said. “So, it is important that we keep the program running.”
Vice President John Aaron Howell said the organization never wants to make students pay to use Safe Ride.
“The whole goal of the organization is to provide this necessary resource for free,” Howell said.
Superintendent of Oxford-University Transit bus system Ron Biggs said funding for Safe Ride was not included in the transit’s budget at first. After last October, it finally went into the budget, and grants from the Mississippi Department of Transportation have helped pay half the costs. The university pays the other half.
Biggs said he hopes to see growth in Safe Ride’s future.
“We had no idea that it would be as big as it is now,” he said. “In the future, we will just continue to add more bus lines and routes, and if the county gets on board and they want to finance us going there, then I imagine we will be going there one day as well.”
For now, Safe Ride committee members work together through fundraisers and promotions to help keep the program running.
Their first fundraiser of the year, the Back to School Fundraiser, was held at the Levee bar on the Square in September. The Levee donated all the night’s purchased wristband and cover sales to Safe Ride to help with their funds.
Safe Ride makes no profit from fundraisers because 100 percent of the money earned goes to funding the buses.
With a total of $1,623 raised, Howell said he thought the event was very successful.
“Our main goal with the event was to reach out to freshmen and other students to let them know that we exist and what we offer,” he said. “We want all of our students to make smart and safe decisions when it comes to drinking and driving.”
As of right now, students are not able to donate to Safe Ride, but executive members have plans to work with the University Foundation to set up an online donation system for Safe Ride.
Another fundraiser will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at The Second Line restaurant on the Square. Twenty percent of sales on gumbo, chicken livers, happy enchiladas, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, fireball shots and Tito’s vodka drinks will go directly to Safe Ride.
Junior exercise science major Gilbert Ahanotu said Safe Ride is a great program for students without cars on campus.
“I personally experienced using Safe Ride when I did not have a car,” Ahanotu said. “It is such a great resource for students because unlike taxis, safe ride is free, and you don’t have to put yourself in danger by riding with someone who has had even a few drinks.”
Non-students are also allowed to use the buses for a small fee of $1 a ride, or they can purchase a monthly pass at the O.U.T. office on 405 McElroy Drive.
