Wednesday October 24, 2001

Service will now extend to East Broadway Boulelvard, instead of East Tenth Street

Students living around campus will be able to hitch a ride just a little further starting Monday.

Saferide, an escort service for University of Arizona students, will stretch its southern boundary to East Broadway Boulevard, instead of East 10th Street.

The new boundary will allow students access to businesses located on Broadway such as Office Max and Safeway, as well as Sun Tran bus stops in a well-lit area, said Associated students of the Universty of the Universty of Arizona Sen. Allison Jones.

"There are things on Broadway that you can't get to in the dark," Jones said.

Students will have access to groceries with the new service, but they must shop light when using Saferide.

"Students can definitely take it to Safeway, but groceries must be able to fit on your lap," Jones said. "It can't be like 20 bags of groceries."

Students who buy more groceries than they can carry would take up room, possibly preventing other students from getting rides, or slow down the service by loading and unloading many bags, Jones said.

The extended boundaries come in response to a student survey indicating that more than 80 percent of 400 UA students surveyed would like to have Saferide boundaries expanded. More than 55 percent of students surveyed said they would use the service more if boundaries were extended.

"I already use Saferide, so if they extended the boundaries, I'd probably use it more," said Jenny Fauerty, a junior majoring in English.

However, another student said that new boundaries or not, the service did not apply to him.

"I don't use it," said business freshman Chad Buffington.

The escort service has been popular lately, said James Drnek, student government adviser.

More than 150 students used the escort service Monday night alone, Drnek said. Saferide answered 1,500 calls for rides in September.

Jones estimates that expanding the boundaries where Saferide operates by the one block from 10th Street to Broadway Boulevard will add only seconds to drivers responding to pick up calls.

The service is for any student who wants a ride and does not feel like walking across campus at night, Jones said.

"A lot of freshman guys I talked to said 'I thought it was only for girls,'" Jones said, adding that Saferide is for both men and women.

Saferide operates from 6:15 p.m. to 12:55 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. For a ride, call 621-SAFE.