Spring Break
Hopkins escort vans leave students waiting
Issue date: 11/15/07
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It was a rainy Friday night when seven freshmen stood outside Wolman Hall, waiting for an on-demand escort van to take them to 22nd Street, where they had hoped to participate in a karaoke night.
After waiting 30 minutes for the "we'll be there in 20 minutes" van to come, Doh picked up his phone and called the escort van service again, only to receive a short, repetitive reply: "it's on its way."
"The van ... would never come as we waited outside in the cold weather," freshman Yuho Doh said. "We waited more than 40 minutes, and at least 10 cabs passed by us."
Although the van finally arrived after 45 minutes to pick up them up, the students who took the van were not happy with the service.
"We called multiple times, only to hear repetitively that it was on its way," freshman Jiho Chun said. "Had I been waiting for the van in front of the library to go home in the cold, rainy weather alone, it would have been horrible," he said, adding that "it was OK because we were together."
The escort van service, available to all Hopkins students, provides safe transportation to residential and commercial sites within one mile of the Homewood Campus. According to Lieutenant Steve Ossmus, the escort van service aims to provide a van to the needed location within 20 minutes of the time the student calls the office. Escort Coordinator Frank Richardson did not respond to repeated attempts for comment.
"I think the escort van service is an integral part of the student life here at campus," freshman Ashley Kim said. "The vans can safely provide transportation. But I am not sure if the escort van service is meeting its original purpose because the vans have always come late when I needed them most."
Out of 40 freshmen surveyed in Wolman Hall who have used the escort van service at least once, 95 percent replied that the van took more than 25 minutes to arrive.
"I have used the van once," freshman Dom Burneikis said. "My friends and I got on one of the fixed-route vans that just came by us, but I have heard from other people that the vans come late. I do not use the escort van service not only because the vans usually come late, but also because they only travel within a mile of the center of the campus. I wish the vans took the students farther away from the campus."
The escort van service usually attributes the delayed waiting time to weather, rush hour traffic or other circumstances beyond their control.
According to the statistics posted on the escort van service website, more than 130,000 students and affiliates utilize the system annually.
"I just think that the escort van service should have more vans available to students," freshman Chris Kang said. "Although I do not use the service a lot, every time my friends and I tried to go off the campus, we had to wait a long time."
After waiting 30 minutes for the "we'll be there in 20 minutes" van to come, Doh picked up his phone and called the escort van service again, only to receive a short, repetitive reply: "it's on its way."
"The van ... would never come as we waited outside in the cold weather," freshman Yuho Doh said. "We waited more than 40 minutes, and at least 10 cabs passed by us."
Although the van finally arrived after 45 minutes to pick up them up, the students who took the van were not happy with the service.
"We called multiple times, only to hear repetitively that it was on its way," freshman Jiho Chun said. "Had I been waiting for the van in front of the library to go home in the cold, rainy weather alone, it would have been horrible," he said, adding that "it was OK because we were together."
The escort van service, available to all Hopkins students, provides safe transportation to residential and commercial sites within one mile of the Homewood Campus. According to Lieutenant Steve Ossmus, the escort van service aims to provide a van to the needed location within 20 minutes of the time the student calls the office. Escort Coordinator Frank Richardson did not respond to repeated attempts for comment.
"I think the escort van service is an integral part of the student life here at campus," freshman Ashley Kim said. "The vans can safely provide transportation. But I am not sure if the escort van service is meeting its original purpose because the vans have always come late when I needed them most."
Out of 40 freshmen surveyed in Wolman Hall who have used the escort van service at least once, 95 percent replied that the van took more than 25 minutes to arrive.
"I have used the van once," freshman Dom Burneikis said. "My friends and I got on one of the fixed-route vans that just came by us, but I have heard from other people that the vans come late. I do not use the escort van service not only because the vans usually come late, but also because they only travel within a mile of the center of the campus. I wish the vans took the students farther away from the campus."
The escort van service usually attributes the delayed waiting time to weather, rush hour traffic or other circumstances beyond their control.
According to the statistics posted on the escort van service website, more than 130,000 students and affiliates utilize the system annually.
"I just think that the escort van service should have more vans available to students," freshman Chris Kang said. "Although I do not use the service a lot, every time my friends and I tried to go off the campus, we had to wait a long time."
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