More students ride Escort after murder

Penn Escort Services transported about 3,000 more people this September than during the same time last year, University Transportation Manager Ron Ward said yesterday. Escort transported 34,156 people last month, Ward said. This is a seven percent increase over the 31,924 riders who used Escort in September 1993. In addition, the number of riders last month doubled from the month before, Ward said. This rise was normal and expected, though, as students returned from summer break in September. In August, Escort transported only 17,894 passengers. Ward attributed the increase in ridership to concerns over safety in light of recent incidents on and near campus, such as the murder of fifth year Mathematics graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed. And although students have complained about longer waits, University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said students should not put their safety at risk because of impatience. "We know that to wait may be inconvenient, but certainly one of the trade-offs here is that Transportation is offering safe escort," he said. "People should not risk their personal safety because they feel inconvenienced about waiting for a ride." Ward said he believes the wait is still being kept around 15 to 20 minutes, although some waits have been longer on the A and B vans, which serve West Philadelphia. He added that Escort is currently running only 10 vans, although the maximum available is 14. Ward attributes this to Escort's need for more drivers. "If every van is full with 15 passengers, they won't get back in time," he said. "We will get back down to a 15 to 20 minute limit once we get enough drivers. We're here to serve the students, and we're trying our best." In spite of recent delays, some students feel the service is excellent. "I think it's a very valuable service for students on campus," College sophomore Supti Bhattacharya said. "I think that students who aren't aware of the service should get to know it and use it. Students shouldn't have to walk alone at night." Escort's popularity may be its largest problem, Ward said. "We've been increasing 30 to 50 percent each year," Ward said. "[Since school started], there's been two Friday nights where we've moved between 1,400 and 1,500 people. That's extremely hard for us." The number of Escort riders has risen from 13,614 in 1986-87 to 317,000 last year -- a 2,200 percent increase. The largest yearly increase, 90 percent, occurred between 1989 and 1990. In 1989, 41,000 people rode Escort and in 1990, 78,466 used the service. A lot of people are using Escort to go to restaurants and bars downtown, he added, and this has placed an added usage on the system. "It's a mechanism to create a safety network, not one for public transportation," Kuprevich said. "It becomes a convenience issue [for some students]." Kuprevich added that Escort is not designed to replace taxi-cabs or busses.