A CU NightRide vehicle parked on the University of Colorado Boulder campus (Emily Doskow/CU Independent)
Nightlife is a major part of the college experience for many at the University of Colorado Boulder. Drinking and using substances can make getting home safely a challenge. Students who prefer not to walk at night rely on bikes, buses, and ride-sharing services.
CU Boulder also provides a free service called CU NightRide as an alternative to Uber or Lyft. Some students, however, have reported problems with long-wait times associated with the service.
The program was started in 1985 as “NightWalk,” where students volunteered to walk their peers from the University Hill Neighborhood back to their dorms on campus to ensure their safety. In 1997, the program incorporated vehicles as demand increased for rides to off-campus homes.
Today, CU NightRide allows students, faculty and staff to order rides through the CU NightRide app until 12 a.m. weeknights and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It is completely free to the rider, and there is no tipping option through the app. Since it is a campus-funded program, CU NightRide drivers are all students and are paid by the university.
Lisha Maganti and Landry Saul, both sophomores at CU Boulder, said the long wait times are one of the major reasons they avoid using the service. Having tried to use it multiple times on campus her freshman year, Saul said she has not attempted it again this year.
Saul said that every time she has ordered a ride through the app, the wait time is at least 45 minutes.
“I would love to be able to rely on it, but it’s just not feasible to wait that long,” Saul said. “At that point, I would rather just walk it.”
According to the UMC NightRide, long wait times can occur when staffing issues arise or they are unable to deploy all of their vehicles.
Some students think that CU NightRide would benefit from a minimal charge that would allow the program to hire more drivers, resulting in lower wait times.
For weekend services this fall, CU NightRide has operated an average of 6.55 vehicles per night, according to Quinn Conroy, the program coordinator.
As a shift coordinator, former NightRide driver Lucia Gordon made $17.60 per hour.
“Shift coordinators are responsible for the smooth operation of a given shift,” said Deborah Méndez Wilson, a CU Boulder spokesperson.
Gordon said that in her time working for CU NightRide, she dealt with several emergency situations.
Because of her role as a shift coordinator, Gordon expected the extra responsibility. However, when she brought up issues she faced to the university, she expressed dissatisfaction with the way they interacted with student workers.
Gordon said that the amount of disaster situations she dealt with caused her “constant anxiety while on shift.” Shift coordinators hold extra responsibilities like assigning vehicles, distributing equipment, handling higher-level issues that come up and responding to emergencies.
One night, Gordon and a fellow coworker encountered a student who had been vomiting and appeared to be “in alarming condition.” She said they tracked the student’s pulse and monitored his breathing as they had been trained to do while they waited for an ambulance.
“At the time, I thought he was overdosing, but it was probably just alcohol poisoning,” she said.
After the incident, Gordon said NightRide built an accessible checklist for drivers who encountered similar situations.
While CU NightRide does not explicitly require drivers to carry Narcan, they are free to do so if they choose, according to Wilson.
“Drivers are trained to recognize signs of alcohol poisoning and engage with emergency services when required,” Wilson said. “They do not intervene themselves in most cases.”
Gordon’s anxiety while on shift, combined with dissatisfaction with university leaders, led Gordon to quit CU NightRide after nearly three years with the program.
While CU NightRide exists to serve as a free and safe alternative to walking in the dark, many students, including Gordon, avoid using the service and think it could benefit from additional resources.
“If it were run more like a student-led startup or had an added feature to attract funding, it may be able to expand and operate more efficiently,” Maganti said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Emily Doskow at emily.doskow@colorado.edu.
