Escort drivers 'just like to drive

Editor's Note: This is the second of two articles which have examined different aspects of campus Escort Services. Imagine Miami Vice taking place in a big, white van instead of sleek speed boats and sports cars. Sonny Crockett would be cruising the streets of Philadelphia picking up drunken freshmen at Murph's and bringing them home safely to the Quadrangle. All the while, he is keeping the streets around the University safe from crime, of course. In one incident this spring, two Escort Service drivers spotted a fleeing mugger and were able to direct the police to him over their radios. But rarely are nights spent driving Escort so eventful. Still, according to some escort drivers, their job is pretty good. "It's almost social in a way," said College and Wharton senior Brad Newberg, an Escort driver. "You meet a lot of people, at least for five minutes." Most drivers are students who work part-time. "I just like to drive," said College junior Paolo Trinchieri. Trinchieri said he listens to radio stations WMMR and WYSP when he drives, and brings reading with him for when he has time before starting a route, or when occasionally, no one is waiting at the transit stops. "Sometimes it gets kind of stressful," said Escort driver and College junior Jonathan Klassen. "We're supposed to go through every half hour." Klassen said Escort vans normally fit up to 14 people, and can be filled up quite quickly on a busy day, especially when the weather's bad. "It can get to you," Klassen said. Newberg added, "Nobody ever accepts that they have to be last if you're driving a route." Most of the drivers agree that the worst place to pick people up is at 44th and Spruce streets, where Murphy's Tavern is located. "Even driving by, people jump out, wave at you, just to give you a hard time," Klassen said. Newberg said he will drive a block before, past the tavern before radioing into the Escort dispatcher for his next pick-up -- all this because he refuses to park at 44th and Spruce streets. According to Escort supervisor and University graduate Takeo Takahashi, no one who is visually intoxicated is allowed to ride in Escort vans. "We keep having people puke in our vans," he said. Tranchieri said he usually lets people in his van as long as they can walk. "If someone's being carried, they're not getting into the van," he said. But, Tranchieri added, "If someone's drunk walking home, they'll probably get robbed." Several drivers said they resent being taken for granted by students who expect to be driven wherever they want to go. Klassen said a student once refused to get out of his van, until the driver took him somewhere else. "People expect [that] since they pay our salaries, we should take them anywhere they want," he added. Tranchieri said sometimes people complain en route. "They'll tell you where to go and how to drive," he said. Supervisor Takahashi said that since the drivers are students, they have other things to worry about. But still he said they are giving their best efforts to their jobs. "[They] are doing basically the same thing that people riding escort are doing -- keep that in mind -- [don't] treat these people like taxi drivers," he said.