SafeRide driver Donnie French pulled up at 1:20 a.m. in front of Campus Corner’s Seven47 restaurant to pick up students needing a ride home.
After 20 minutes of waiting, nobody came out of the restaurant to claim the ride, French said. Even though nobody received a ride, these 20 minutes cost OU $12.
OU’s SafeRide program suffered $1,044 in lost revenue after 87 calls — valued at $12 each — resulted in callers not arriving at the designated pickup site, according to SafeRide phone logs from March 3 to May 1.
These incidents are referred to as dead calls, SafeRide Director Brynn Daves said. This is when students call for a ride and don’t show up, Daves said.
“It is unfortunate when this occurs, as it takes one taxi out of use for another SafeRide and could potentially cause lengthened wait times,” Daves said.
The program pays $12 each ride to local taxicab companies Yellow Cab Company and Airport Express to pick up students — whether a ride is completed, Daves said in an email. However, the university does not pay the fee if students cancel the ride before the cab arrives.
SafeRide gives OU students a free, anonymous taxicab ride home from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Sunday. Dispatchers record the student’s phone number, pick-up and drop-off locations, number of riders and then send a vehicle.
Student Affairs — which sponsors the program — encourages students who call for rides to cancel if they end up not needing the service, Daves said.
Student Affairs began the program in the fall of 2004 as a limited bus route through greek row and the OU campus before the three-strikes alcohol policy was implemented in 2005, Daves said. Student Affairs expanded the program to discourage drinking and driving across campus after the policy’s implementation.
SafeRide has expanded its vehicle count to 20 after adding 10 new vehicles last fall, Daves said. The cost of rides increased to $12 per ride because of gas prices, and the number of dispatchers working each shift increased from two to four, Daves said.
SafeRide is funded enitrely through the President’s Office.
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