Midd Rides restores call-in service

Author: Brian Fung

The Midd Rides program will once again accept telephone requests for evening transportation as soon as the underlying infrastructure has been re-established, the Department of Public Safety said on Monday. The reversal in policy reflects Public Safety's responsiveness to growing disappointment among students with a recent decision to eliminate the popular call-in system.

Up until this fall, students could call a Midd Rides van like a taxi, using a special campus phone extension to tell an operator where they were. The operator would then give the caller a time and place that they would be picked up. The phone system, however, was shut down this semester and calls to Midd Rides' extension are now redirected to either the College's main switchboard or to the Office of Public Safety.

"This increases the call volume," said Lisa Boudah, director of Public Safety, "and makes it difficult for the telecommunicator to answer other calls for service."

In place of the call-in service, the Midd Rides shuttle began running on a set loop through the campus and downtown areas.

"The idea was to eliminate the calls entirely and have the routes take [their] place," said Jason Gutierrez '09, a Midd Rides driver. "I don't know why," he added, explaining his confusion at Public Safety's interference with a system that seemed to serve students well.

Tyler Lohman '08.5, also employed as a Midd Rides driver, looked to recent events as justification for the call-in system. "It was a great idea, especially with the kidnapping at the University of Vermont," he said. "I think a lot of people want it back."

Until 2003, Midd Rides was responsible for providing transportation to students only from Sunday through Thursday nights. During the weekend, the task was relegated to a third-party service. Unlike Midd Rides, however, the contract van did not operate with a dispatcher and ran solely on a predetermined route.

Though the Department of Public Safety regarded the independence of the third-party operation from a dispatcher as a major incentive for its continued existence, the program was ultimately deemed too costly. In the end, the decision was made to abolish the program and incorporate its operational strategies within Midd Rides. Combining the services, however, placed additional stress on Public Safety's staff.

The Department of Public Safety is currently accepting applications for the dispatch position. The call-in program will resume once the job is filled, but according to Gutierrez, there has been no shortage of Midd Rides riders, even with the temporary lapse in phone service.

"Usually I pick up between 20 to 40 people in a night," he said. Ridership has increased dramatically since the late 1990s, when the program was first created. Today, according to data provided by the Department of Public Safety, Midd Rides chauffeurs an average of over 17,000 students per year. The service has provided more than 2,000 rides this fall alone.

"The weather makes it more difficult for students to walk," said Boudah, explaining that she expects the use of Midd Rides to skyrocket within the next few months.

For those on the ground, however, ridership is already up. "We've gotten 71, 71 and 72 riders in the past three Thursdays," said Lohman, who enjoys his job. "It's a lot of fun. I just plug an iTrip into my iPod and rock out with my partner."