A group of UA students will soon be paying to drive intoxicated students around.

CatsRIDE, Cats Realizing the Importance of a Designated Driving Escort is a non-profit, student run organization designed to protect the lives of students by providing them safe and reliable transportation home when intoxicated. The service will replace another transportation program offered by ASUA earlier this year.

Paying $20 dues a semester, member drivers will be on call from10 p.m. to 3 a.m., Thursday through Saturday to pick up students and transport them to anywhere within a five mile radius of campus, an area that includes the large apartment complexes North Pointe, Star Ranch and Sterling. However, the group will not offer pick-ups on campus.

Modeled after CarPOOL a successful student organization at Texas A&M that has provided more than 36,000 rides to students, CatsRIDE plans to raise funds for vehicle rentals, gas, phone lines and headquarters rental through sponsorships from local Tucson businesses.

"Sponsoring us will be a tax write off. We feel that many of these businesses will be willing to donate," said co-founder Jason M. Cobb, a molecular and cellular biology senior.

Unlike the Texas A&M program, CatsRIDE is not associated with student government and Cobb doesn't think the lack of university support will hinder the program.

"As far as our lack of ties with ASUA, we don't believe that this will affect us in achieving our goals," he said.

Unlike any program offered by ASUA or other UA transportation service, CatsRIDE is strictly designed for intoxicated students who risk DUI.

"Everyone has been affected by drunk driving ... This is good way to give students a safe ride," Cobb said.

Cobb said the program's independence from the UA enables CatsRIDE to avoid the pitfalls of Lifeline, a program instituted by ASUA earlier this year to provide emergency cab services.

In summer 2002, ASUA entered a contract with the for-profit company Lifeline Inc., which planned to provide UA students with emergency cab service at no cost.

According to the plan, ASUA was to handout 5,000 Lifeline cards to students, faculty and administrators to be used in cases of emergency. Presented at drop-off, lifeline cards covered the cost of the user's fair and a 15 percent gratuity. Lifeline paid the price of the fairs with revenue from an advertising program in which Tucson area businesses paid for advertising space on Lifeline cards.

ASUA gave $2,650 to a Lifeline Representative to sell the Ad space.

A week after ASUA handed out 8,000 cards, early in September, students could not get picked up because the company Lifeline

contacted to handle pick-ups, Discount Cab, had no cabs in Tucson at the time the contract began.

On September 20th, service was changed to a local cab company, Yellow Cab, but difficulties continued. According to former Administrative Vice President Jered Mansell, Lifeline changed their definition of emergency and would not dispatch cabs to pick-up intoxicated students.

Lifeline president, Richard Signarino was unavailable for comment.

"It's a case of false advertising. They (Lifeline) claim to provide transportation to prevent DUI, but they won't pick up intoxicated students," Mansell said.

Lifeline Cards remain valid until September, but use has dwindled.

"None were used in April and only four were used in March," says Xenia Thorton communications manager for Yellow Cabs, the company that handles Lifeline pick-ups.

Mansell said that although the program's shortcomings were not ASUA's fault, Lifeline's failures illustrates the trouble organizations tied financially to the UA have providing transportation to intoxicated students.

Although a lot of research goes into finding programs that could help students prevent DUI, he can't foresee ASUA finding an effective program in the future.

"There will never be a program through ASUA that picks up intoxicated students. There are too many legal issues," Mansell said.

Copying the program at Texas A&M and obligating members to use rental cars, Cobb plans to avoid the liability issues ASUA struggles with.

"CarPOOL's insurance is covered by Enterprise Car Rental. They received waivers from the state to allow students 18 and older to drive.

"Those are the options we are looking in to," says Cobb.

So far, support for CatsRIDE has been strong, said Co-founder Kimberlee Kersten.

"We've had a lot of e-mails from students who are interested," Kersten said. "We need students over the summer to help us get established so we can get underway in the fall."