The app, among other things, could employ GPS technology to track safety escorts in real time; give users more accurate estimated arrival times; enable communication between escorts and requesters; and allow vehicles to be quickly and easily rerouted.
The application, although different from Uber, will be similar to the ride-hailing company that has swept the globe — and some Iowa communities — by enabling customers to use smartphones to submit ride requests to Uber-certified drivers who operate their own cars.
"We have looked at expanding the bus routes and things like that, but we've really learned that students like the door-to-door service," said Aaron DeLashmutt, interim assistant vice president and ISU police chief.
"Because even when the buses are running, they are utilizing the safe escort program," he said. "And we're OK with that. We're going to embrace it and try to support the students as much as we can."
The ISU Department of Public Safety is in the process of requesting and evaluating proposals for the new application, which DeLashmutt said he hopes will be in place for the 2016-17 school year.
"We would really like to get this initiative up and running by the start of the fall semester," he said in an email to The Gazette.
Ride requests through Iowa State's existing safety escort program have soared in the past decade — jumping from 1,832 in 2006 to more than 6,000. About 17 students referred to as "community service officers" operate the program, which is sponsored by the ISU Department of Public Safety and the Government of the Student Body.
Any student, faculty, staff, or campus visitor can access the service between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. by calling an ISU safety escort hotline. Both pedestrian and vehicle escorts are available, and DeLashmutt said his department is addressing the growing demand by adding another student escort and an additional vehicle "to be responsive to those peak times."
Implementing an Uber-type app will allow escorts to communicate directly with requesters, letting them know their location, their estimated time of arrival, and when they actually show up.
"(Users) could wait inside a building — a little safer environment — and not have to stand out along the sidewalk waiting for the driver to come," DeLashmutt said.
Right now, the only lines of communication between escorts and requesters go through the service's dispatch center.
A mobile app also could allow for easier ride cancellations or rerouting, saving time and money by assigning the nearest escort. And data collected through the GPS technology could come in handy as officials work to improve the service.
"We can use the data that we get from that to assess our program and see where we can better use the systems," he said.
Although Iowa State remains in the investigation phase of a new Uber-type safety escort app, DeLashmutt said officials have been eyeing two mobile programs — TapRide and RideCell, a software platform that automates operational tasks associated with running a transportation system.
"There are many others, but these offered the most options we were looking for," DeLashmutt said.
Program officials have compiled a list of features they want in their safety-escort mobile app.
- Officials should be able to customize the service to optimize cost and value based on demand.
- GPS technology should enable escort tracking in real time, increasing safety and efficiency.
- An Uber-like interface should provide real-time vehicle locations and estimated arrival times.
- The app should automate texts when a driver is in route or when a requester doesn't show.
- It also should allow escorts to send specific notifications to requesters, like when they arrive.
- The system should allow users to pick whether they want to receive notifications via text or call.
- The application should make it easy to reroute escorts "to efficiently pick up all riders."
- The system should flag requests coming from outside the service zone and notify those requesters.
- And officials want the app to let escorts see how many requests are in their queue.
"I love the idea of the possible Uber-type app for students in the escort service," she said. "I think students will really pick up on that."
Since Uber debuted among the first mobile-application ride-hailing services in 2009, the company has spread to more than 360 cities in 68 countries, and it's served more than 1 billion people. In Iowa, Uber operates in the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and Ames, and some have talked about getting it in Iowa City and Sioux City.
A proposed bill in the Iowa Senate would create statewide regulations for ride-hailing companies like Uber, and company officials have expressed concerns with a provision that mandates comprehensive and collision insurance coverage for drivers using cars with liens.
Uber officials said the bill could prompt them to stop operating in the state, but Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, on Monday said he's preparing to run an amended bill on the Senate Floor that does not contain the provision Uber opposed.
©2016 The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
