The US is a huge country and one may find it hard to get around, especially if you are a student. Public transportation which include bicycles, buses, taxies, trains, and subways is the most efficient. The students from the Northeastern University are now enjoying a free ride-sharing service at the Boston campus. It is called RedEye Safety Escort, which is managed by the Northeastern University Police Department. Off campus students can access free rides home at night by using the app. Every half an hour, pickups are available at Snell Library from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Students living within a radius of two miles at the campus center can also avail the service.
Northeastern University has partnered with Via, which has helped in developing the app. Via offers ride-sharing services in 80 cities across 20 countries and has developed similar ride-sharing systems in conjunction with transportation authorities in Los Angeles, London, Sydney, and Berlin. Sgt. John Farrell, a Northeastern Police Staff, says that Via’s algorithm facilitates multiple passengers, heading the same direction to book a shared vehicle.
Dillon Twombly, chief revenue officer at Via says that they optimise the routing so that they deliver them quickly. At the same time, they are reducing congestion and, emissions, and facilitating an efficient service for the students to get home.
More than 3000 students have used the service for 45,000 rides in the 2018-19 academic year. Farrell expects those numbers to rise with the improved service this year. Safiya Ibrahim, a junior in computer engineering technology who has used the service for the past year for commutes, believes that with the previous technology, students would sometimes bypass the app and ask the driver to take them home, which led to inefficient routing. Now, with the improved service, It is much cheaper and safer than taking the train or the bus.
Shahjadi Jemim Rahman
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