The transportation service, run by IU students, recently switched to an app-based system. Riders can now download TapRide, an app already used at universities nationwide, from Apple and Android app stores.
IU Safety Escort transports IU students, faculty and staff from 8 p.m. to 1:45 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. Friday through Saturday, according to the IU Safety Escort website.
Riders traditionally called a dispatcher, telling the dispatcher where they would like to be picked up and dropped off. The dispatcher then gave the riders an estimated time of arrival, IU Safety Escort Director Austin Fair said.
Now, riders can download the app, log in with their University ID and password and select where they would like to be picked up and dropped off. The closest of three drivers, armed with an iPad, then selects the ride and gives the riders an estimated time of arrival, Fair said.
The new app, developed by DoubleMap, allows the riders to track the location of the vehicle, just as the DoubleMap bus tracking app allows riders to track the location of Bloomington and campus buses.
“We only had one dispatcher, so all the calls had to go through that one person,” Fair said. “And the phone timed out at 10 minutes, so we would have times, at our busiest, when people would time out at 10 minutes and have to call back in. So things weren’t going as well with that.”
When the contract with the old software vendor expired, IU Safety Escort decided to purchase an app instead of renewing the contract, Fair said. The group hoped the app would cut down on wait time and miscommunication both before and after making the call.
“It seems like the trend is to go with apps, because a lot of students have smartphones,” he said.
Fair added that using an app is more intuitive for students than calling a dispatcher.
Though the new app only works with Android phones and iPhones, Fair said IU Safety Escort is working on developing an online portal for riders without compatible cell phones to use.
Until then, Fair said IU Safety Escort will continue to employ a dispatcher for riders without compatible phones to use, though the dispatcher will route riders with compatible cell phones to use the app.
Once IU Safety Escort has developed an online portal for riders without compatible cell phones to use, Fair said the transportation service will no longer employ a dispatcher, but will keep a cell phone in one of the vehicles in case riders have questions or concerns.
Fair said the app has been a success so far, cutting down on wait time both before and after making the call and cutting down on miscommunication.
“There’s been a few issues, but for the most part riders seem to like it,” he said. “They seem to like how simple it is. They’ve compared it to Uber.”
