Hamilton’s Transportation Office started a new on-call student driver program. Through the program, students who need to make trips off-campus for things such as appointments or internships can request a driver to take them to their location free of charge. The office hired Hamilton students to be the drivers. The program debuted Monday, Oct. 25.
Student drivers utilize a fleet of campus vehicles (which consist primarily of minivans) when transportng students. Additionally, the service allows students to travel off-campus when the Jitney is not running and to locations that the Jitney does not regularly serve.
The on-call program is currently running from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Mondays throughs Fridays. It also has limited hours on Saturdays. On-call drivers are allowed to transport students to locations within a 20-minute drive of the College, which primarily includes New Hartford and Utica.
According to Student Transportation Co-Manager Jason Lever ’23, who helped develop the new program, last year the Transportation Office had a team of student drivers that took students to and from appointments upon request. However, most of the office’s drivers are now working Jitney shifts, preventing them from being able to drive students when given the opportunity. The on-call driver program aims to fill this gap and to ensure that there is always a driver available to transport individual students.
“Whether something is already scheduled or if it pops up, it is guaranteed that this driver is available to do what they have to do for the office,” Lever said.
This year, prior to the implementation of this program, many students with appointments and other transportation needs took Ubers paid for by the Transportation Office. However, Ubers were not always reliable or safe for students. Lever said that the on-call driver program intends to largely replace the use of Ubers by the Transportation Office for short-distance trips, and it will provide a more convenient and familiar transportation option for students.
“There aren’t always a ton of Ubers around here, so students could be late to appointments or getting back to campus for class, and there are also potential safety issues when you don’t know who the driver is,” Lever said. “So by having a Hamilton vehicle and a Hamilton student, we want to make students feel more comfortable.”
As of Oct. 25, ten students are working as on-call drivers. On-call drivers currently have three-hour shifts, and one driver is on call at a time. These drivers can wait to receive rides anywhere on campus and are paid for their entire shift, even when they are not actively driving students.
Students who want to request an on-call driver can do so by calling or emailing the Transportation Office. While the on-call service is just starting up, Lever expressed optimism that many students will use it, as there has previously been high demand for transportation to and from appointments. Lever encouraged students requesting an on-call driver to schedule trips several days beforehand to avoid confusion and ensure that they receive a driver.
“One thing that we advise everyone to do is not to reach out at the last minute, because it will become a scramble to get a driver, and a lot of times we can’t necessarily provide one,” Lever said. “If [a student] reaches out a couple days ahead of time, the Transportation Office will be able to set them up with a driver 90 percent of the time.”
