Last week, Nite Ride was extended to people of all genders. UI has also introduced the use of an app, TransLōc Rider, to increase ease of access.
By Molly Hunter
A nighttime bus service is now open to all genders, not just women.
Earlier this month, the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety announced that beginning Aug. 17, Nite Ride would be available for use by students and staff of all genders.
In addition, it announced they will be using the TransLoc Rider app. The app will be used by students to request service from Nite Ride.
The service began in 2007 as a free, safe means of late-night and early morning transportation for women with the goal of combating sexual assault.
According to the UI Department of Public Safety discussions website, discussions about extending the service to all genders began last fall.
Linda Stewart Kroon, the director of the Women’s Resource and Action Center, acknowledged that based on research, there has not been an up-tick in sexual assault and violence when services were made available to all genders at other Big Ten universities.
“What I understand from the people who did the research on this was that … at other Big Ten universities with similar services that weren’t gender-restricted, there was no up-tick in sexual assault and violence when the services were public. Hopefully, that will be true here.”
Susan Junis, assistant director of prevention and outreach at the Rape Victim Advocacy Program, said she hopes that opening up the Nite Ride service will draw attention to the experiences of trans-identified students at Iowa who she said are statistically more likely to experience sexual assault than straight women.
“It’s really important to acknowledge the experience of trans-identified students,” Junis said. “This is one small piece, but it’s an important piece, of acknowledging the experience of trans students at the University of Iowa.”
Junis said although perpetrators of sexual assault are more likely to be male, one in 16 men also experience sexual violence during their time in college.
“At lower rates, but they do … I suppose the Nite Ride change can open up a dialogue about male sexual violence,” she said. “Sexual assault affects everyone, regardless of gender.”
Alton Poole, a Public Safety community outreach specialist, said the app, which was created by an outside organization, will verify that a person is in the footprint of pickup or drop-off.
“It tracks where the bus is relative to you, and the driver decides the route according to requests,” he said.
However, the route is not decided by the driver according to requests. Riders on similar travel paths are consolidated to travel on the same trip.
Jonathan Ron, a Public Safety security supervisor, said he got the idea for using TransLoc Rider after hearing about similar apps being used for similar services at other universities.
In response to the possibility of an increase in cost by the use of the app and providing the Nite Ride service to more people, Poole wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan that he hopes that the benefits of the app will outweigh the cost.
“The app costs about $12,000 a year but the hope is to be more efficient and safer for our riders since the rider can get an accurate [estimated time of arrival],” he said. “If we can push users to use the app instead of a phone, it may reduce operational costs by reducing the need for a dispatcher.”
TransLoc gives the department the ability to track waiting times, miles driven, and rider use, Poole said in the email, which would allow it to “track rider demand and make recommendations for future resource allocations.”
So far, Ron said, no resource allocations for the service have been made.
“We’ve always had two buses running anyway, and we haven’t increased manpower or hours in that way,” he said.
He also encouraged users of the service to share their experiences.
“We’d like to hear feedback,” he said. “We’re trying to provide the best service possible.”
In an earlier version of this story, The Daily Iowan reported Jonathan Ron, a Public Safety security adviser, was responsible for the conception of the TransLoc Rider app. Ron recognized the need for the implementation of the app, but no one at the UI had a hand in creating it. Additionally, the route is not decided by the driver according to requests. Riders on similar travel paths are consolidated to travel on the same trip. The DI regrets the errors.
