Sometimes the free rider problem is just what it sounds like. With the recent wave of assaults on University students, the SafeRide program at UVa seems more sensible and useful now than ever. However, after a girl was assaulted Saturday night while waiting for SafeRide to arrive, one writer for the Cavalier Daily argues that the program is being stretched to its limits and needs attention due to suffering service.
Currently, the program does not have the capacity to accommodate a large number of riders. With two vans responding to student requests and a third solely devoted to making library runs, seats fill up quickly — especially during peak exam times. Calls to the service line are often met with busy signals because of high use, which is frustratingly inconvenient for students. Such drawbacks deter students from making use of the program. Instead, they might choose to walk alone at night and put their safety at risk.
Undoubtedly, SafeRide provides a valuable service to the UVa community. Moreover, because the service is free, there is a public aspect to its provision. As many would expect, this has led the University to under-provide. However, the article mentions an effort by the University to launch a free cab service (prophetically named “FreeRide”) in the fall 2008 semester – while popular, this program fell flat. When students began to use it inappropriately for transportation to social events and drivers complained about lack of proper compensation, it was discontinued just one semester after its inception.
It is clear that SafeRide is a popular and useful method of transportation for University students when safety is an issue. With the recent increase in crime near the University, it is likely that students will begin to utilize it even more, potentially placing even greater strain on the system. Faced with a tight budget, the University may be hesitant to expand the program. One alternative is the Yellow Cab service created by the Office of the Dean of students, but that option is far less attractive to students because there is a price tag, although payment can be deferred until a later date.
Free programs are difficult to fund and provide efficiently, and students don’t use other programs heavily precisely because they are not free. What other options does the University have to efficiently provide safe transportation for students?
1 comment:
No doubt everyone received the e-mail from Leonard Sandridge on the improvements to SafeRide in light of the recent assaults. In case you haven't, UVa's plans "include doubling the number of people who answer SafeRide phones and increasing the number of phone lines from two to five." It's clear that there are some negative externalities that more important than funding to the University, i.e. bad publicity, but I still don't think that UVa is stepping up as it should, unless those plans also include more vans. Because the service is free, I don't think free riding applies because I assume that students aren't responsible for bearing SafeRide's finances. But what if SafeRide relied on small donations? I'm pretty sure the program would collapse because of the free rider problem. Only a small number of students use it at a time and it's likely that of that group, only a small percentage is willing to pay. As much as I'm dissatisfied with SafeRide - why does the van come only every 30 minutes? - I have to admit it's better than nothing. In response to the question, I'm not sure that there is a better way other than tacking it onto our tuition fees.
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