The Last Last Shuttle

Until this past Wednesday, Quadlings visiting the River—or studying late in Lamont—who dared to linger past the 12:30 a.m. shuttle cutoff found themselves in a disagreeable, and all too familiar, predicament. Most resort to making a long, cold, and potentially dangerous trek on foot across Harvard’s sprawling campus. But now, the University has provided another option; the recent move to provide 24-hour transportation service is a welcome and needed improvement to undergraduate life.

And it’s about time. Not only have students been calling on Harvard for years to extend its shuttle schedule, but the rash of assaults in the Square the past several months highlighted the urgency of the issue. The new changes—although not perfect—amount to an appreciable difference of four more hours of transportation where previously there was none. Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II says the changes were not made specifically in reaction to the recent events; still the undergraduate community is certainly better off with safe and convenient transport between the River and the Quad at all hours.

The month of February has been designated, for good reason, a trial period to evaluate student demand during the added hours of service. Drivers will monitor how many students board the shuttle at each stop to determine the effective and efficient schedule. The new system currently in place extends regular shuttle bus service between the River and the Quad from 12:30 a.m. until 3 a.m. The Evening Shuttle Van, which provides door-to-door, on-demand service during those hours, has been assigned after 3 a.m. to shuttle bus routes at 30 minute intervals until buses resume at 7 a.m.

Just as important as the expansion of services is its improved centralization, which will hopefully lead to better coordination. The new process seems more user-friendly; students need to remember just one number (5-0400) to reach a single dispatcher who will answer queries, page vans and direct students to their nearest transportation option. In the past, late night calls were greeted with a recorded message, and students were often referred from one transport department to another—none of which were in regular communication with each other.

The new service expansions have been accompanied by the announcement of a revamped program replacing the recently defunct SafetyWalk. The new program—run by the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) and modeled on a successful effort at University of California Berkeley—will hire pairs of undergraduates to roam the Quad, Yard and River Houses during the night while maintaining constant radio communication with the central dispatcher and HUPD. Escorts will wear clearly marked HUPD vests and receive safety training. The new program, by coordinating with other transportation services and increasing visibility, appears to improve considerably on SafetyWalk’s deficiencies.

Still, some specific changes in transportation services are far from flawless. In order to ensure that this trial month effectively measures student demand, Harvard must devote resources to publicizing the new services—raising awareness about the transport options available and the dangers of walking alone at night. Also, scheduled night-time shuttle routes are much less preferable than the personalized pickup provided by the Evening Shuttle Van. Many students are unlikely to wait a half hour if they miss the shuttle, and those students who are forced to travel long distances just in order to reach a shuttle stop are liable to forego the shuttle altogether.

In these cases, McLoughlin stresses that an HUPD pickup and transport, as always, remains an option for any student who feels uncomfortable with his or her safety. In fact, McLoughlin suggested that HUPD pickups might ultimately fill in for any “unproductive hours” identified during the trial period. But HUPD is not a fair substitute for transportation service. Many students are averse to being transported in a HUPD vehicle—especially when intoxicated—and some students have expressed frustration at calling HUPD for rides in the past, complaining of long delays of up to 45 minutes. After all, HUPD attends to a host of other responsibilities besides transporting students from one end of campus to the other.

The trial month of 24-hour shuttle service is a necessary step to gauge student needs. It is encouraging that Harvard has finally taken these steps toward improving students’ late-night well-being and safety. Hopefully, this trial will lead to sustainable solutions that even more effectively tackle student concerns.