The Daily Bruin published an editorial regarding the proposition by the Undergraduate Students Association Council Facilities Commission to integrate an app into the Community Service Officers’ Evening Van Service. We hope to use this platform as an opportunity to encourage active campus discussion surrounding student safety and well-being, as well as expand on the Facilities Commission’s vision and current progress on our safety initiatives.
We agree that in order to make effective improvements to the current van service, it is necessary to collect data from students and CSO administrators alike to attain a wholesome understanding of the issue. For the past two weeks, the Facilities Commission has been in the process of gathering testimonials from students, CSO drivers and van supervisors regarding the current state of our Evening Van Service. In the data obtained thus far, we have identified recurring themes that point to a need for structural changes in how the current service is run. For example, CSOs have expressed concerns regarding their outdated radio communication system and students have voiced their distress over being unable to estimate CSO drivers’ times of arrival and locating unmarked vans.
While the Facilities Commission has no intention of programming an entirely new application, we have been collaborating with the CSO administration and UCLA Transportation to integrate TapRide, an existing application pioneered by DoubleMap, into the van service infrastructure. TapRide has been successfully implemented at two other UC campuses, and proves a promising solution to the outdated communication interface between student and driver.
[Related: USAC proposes app integration for on-demand CSO van service]
UCLA Transportation’s contract with NextBus, a service that provides real-time transit information to passengers, is currently being re-evaluated. A new contract with DoubleMap would cost an estimated $42,000 over the course of three years. Furthermore, the CSO program spends $100,000 a year on the CSO escort service which yields, on average, less than 10 calls per month. If integrating TapRide into the van service gains traction among students, CSO administration plans to reallocate the funds from the escort service to leasing vehicles, staffing and app service fees, covering approximately 60 to 70 percent of funding for the project.
To gauge student interest in the new service, DoubleMap has offered a free two-week trial. This test period will help determine the application’s efficiency in improving internal van service operations and facilitating communication between student riders and drivers. Once we are able to confirm the usability and effectiveness of such a service, we can then move forward with a more permanent incorporation of the app service into the van program. CSO administration is confident, however, that integrating a service like TapRide is the next step in addressing underlying safety concerns with the current service.
Aside from helping implement the TapRide application, the Facilities Commission has proposed other solutions to cater to campus safety needs. Although the van service currently does not run on weekends, we have been able to successfully advocate for and implement weekend van service during fall finals weekend to better serve existing demand. We hope to maintain transparent, productive dialogue with UCLA administration in order to continue working towards effective transportation improvements that address student safety concerns. This may include discussion of other transportation solutions such as revisiting the hours and routings of BruinBus services, extending the hours of the CSO van program and looking at possible transportation options between the Hill and the main campus.
A single mugging on campus is still one incident that should have never occurred. One incident should be enough for us to acknowledge that we must do more to ensure the safety and security of our students. We agree that anecdotal evidence is powerful, and instances such as these highlight the necessity to immediately identify and address problems concerning student safety. The Facilities Commission takes each of these issues seriously, and we continue to advocate for the wellness and security of our students as we re-evaluate the services provided to ensure a safe campus community.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns on the CSO evening services or the proposed changes, please share your thoughts with us at usafac@asucla.ucla.edu.
Written by the collaborative efforts of the USAC Facilities Commission Safety Committee.