SafeRide implemented a number of changes yesterday to increase the efficiency of the BrownMed/Downcity and campus shuttle services.
The BrownMed/Downcity shuttle route was changed, and the total number of stops was cut from 19 to 14. Stops that were close to other stops were eliminated to decrease wait times. A stop at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center was also cut, making Angell Street the route's northernmost boundary.
Students can now track the location of shuttles online through a service available on the SafeRide website or with a free smartphone application. The app provides a map of the three running shuttles' locations and lists arrival times at individual stops.
The SafeRide route also has new signs displaying a unique text identification number for each stop. To find out the location of the nearest shuttle, passengers can text the ID of the stop to 41411 and receive a response with the arrival time of the next two shuttles.
The OnCall service has also moved online. Students can enter Brown ID numbers at shuttle.brown.edu to request or cancel rides.
When Alpert Medical School opened in the Jewelry District this summer, the Transportation Office recognized that the shuttle service needed to be modified for the expansion, said Beth Gentry, assistant vice president of financial and administrative services. Brown hired consultants to identify problems with the system and modernize SafeRide's tracking software.
"Frankly, the system had not been looked at and evaluated in that way with a professional in quite a few years," Gentry said. "It was time."
With these modifications, the shuttle program is expected to be more efficient and user-friendly.
"I never use SafeRide because I feel like in the time it takes to wait for a shuttle I could have walked to my destination and back," said Liz Kelley '13. "But now that I can see exactly where the shuttles are, I'll probably use it more. I'm lazy."
These updates are timely as colder temperatures hit Providence.
"I mainly use SafeRide in the winter because I hate walking in the cold," said Annika Havnaer '13.
