The recent rash of criminal incidents in close proximity to campus has raised Syracuse University students' expectations of a dependable, safe commute.
When Andeline Moller, a graduate special education major, enrolled in a late-night course offered at SU, safety was an issue. Moller said she was concerned about returning to her off-campus residence safely without a personal vehicle.
"My adviser said it wouldn't be a problem," Moller said. "Public Safety would transport me."
The shuttle service operated by Public Safety provides daily transportation for SU students, faculty and staff from on-campus locations to local off-campus destinations within a restricted boundary. The Public Safety Web site and brochure say the Shuttle U Home van service transports a maximum of six passengers from 8:15 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.
Sgt. Edward Weber, of Students for Community Safety, a division of Public Safety, said the Shuttle U Home service uses student drivers and monitors and was established three to four years ago.
"The service was designed to shuttle to certain areas off campus that the (Centro) buses don't get to," Weber said. "We have Centro schedules all over."
The Shuttle U Home brochure encourages students to use Centro transportation and provides a map that traces the shuttle boundaries. Another service offered by Public Safety is walking or driving student marshals or Public Safety officer escorts that transport to on-campus locations, Weber said.
"They give a really distorted image of their service," Moller said, in reference to the Public Safety fliers that clearly state, "If you want to work late, don't be afraid, because we'll take you home."
The message they send it is not clear that they only transport near the university, Moller said.
"Students fall into the trap of thinking this is a service, 'I don't have to worry,'" said Moller. "It's an insult to the intelligence of the students to make a promise that they know they won't live up to."
Other students have found the Public Safety service useful when used on campus.
Alyson Moskowitz, and undecided freshman, called Public Safety for an escort one night at the beginning of the fall semester and within 10 minutes, they arrived in a car. The escort drove Moskowitz and three others from the Brewster/Boland/Brockway Complex to Flint Hall.
"It was safer than walking home," Moskowitz said.
The service was convenient and she had no problems with it, Moskowitz said.
Xiaozhong Liu, an information studies graduate student, said he went to the Public Safety station in Sims Hall one night last year to register for a shuttle home and was told that he would have to wait a half hour to 40 minutes because they didn't have an escort available. Liu has friends who use the service more frequently.
"You usually have to wait at least a half hour," Liu said.
Weber said he is looking into the feasibility of providing a second shuttle during high times, such as in winter. The additional shuttle would transport at different hours, complying with the current boundaries. A second shuttle would require more trained drivers and consideration of cost and interest, but the change is not likely, Weber said.
There seems to be an assumption that off-campus and graduate students have their own transportation; this is not the case, Moller said. As an international student, she acknowledges that other international students, who are here for a short time, cannot justify the expense and trouble of having a vehicle.
"They seem to have had American students in mind when they were planning the service. There are diverse needs," Moller said. "The larger part of international students are not economically on par with average American students."
"At the end of the day, it's about feeling safe, whether it is a first year, graduate, American or international SU student," Moller said. "Because they are sending an untrue or false message regarding their services, they indirectly contribute to the recent robberies."
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