In the wake of recent abductions and sexual assaults on campus, many students have developed concern about getting home safely from late exams and nights spent at the library. SAFEride services are one way to get home safely, but the limited hours and response time have students frustrated.
Jacob Hahn, coordinator of SAFEride services, said he understands the frustrations of students who call SAFE services on the weekend and aren't able to get through.
""We just don't have enough resources to keep up with the volume of calls that are coming in,"" he said.
Hahn noted SAFEride cab hours will be extended from their normal time of 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., beginning this Friday and continuing until Saturday, Dec. 23.
However, the other SAFE services will not change hours to accommodate students. SAFEwalk ends at 1 a.m. and the last SAFEride bus runs until 1:45 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
Last year there was talk of nixing funding for SAFEwalk, but now, more than ever, students are being urged to take advantage of the option. Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam said transportation services are committed to continuing the SAFEwalk program and will continue the program regardless of funding.
Hahn said if students have friends to walk with or money or a credit card to pay for a cab, they should use these alternate ways of getting home before resorting to a SAFEride cab.
""One of the important things that needs to be stressed, with the SAFEride cab program especially, is for people to stop thinking about it as though it's a free cab service and really use it in situations where they have no other way out,"" Hahn said.
Students said they feel SAFE services are inadequate, especially this time of year. One of the main locales during finals is College Library, which is open 24 hours, seven nights per week during finals. Carrie Kruse, director of College Library, said she sees students either staying at the library really late, or coming in really early, around six or seven in the morning.
""We know that having a 24-hour library is a service the students really value,"" she said, ""and we know that [the students] also need to balance that need and desire to be able to study all night or study late into the night with managing their own individual safety.""
During finals week, Hahn said getting a Safecab or Safewalk home should not be a problem, because ""it will be a lot easier than on a really busy weekend night.""
UW-Madison sophomore Kelsey Phelan said safety is always a concern and feels that SAFE services do an OK job, but are not available at the times necessary around this time of year, noting the early end time for SAFE walk.
""If safety [and lack of SAFE services] wasn't an issue I'd stay at the library until 2:00 a.m."" Phelan said.
