People at Washington University are generally trustworthy. We all carry around our IDs, but no one ever stops us on campus and says, “Hey, can you prove you go here?” I would have a hard time living in a place like this if I were constantly asked to show my identification. Yet there is one place where I’m perfectly happy to deal with the inconvenience: our shuttle system. Unfortunately, that inconvenience rarely occurs, putting students in potential danger.
Technically, all persons boarding a University shuttle must show proper University ID, contractor ID or shuttle pass. The shuttle system, according to the Parking and Transportation Web site, is a closed one, open only to students, faculty, staff and contracted employees, with alumni and guests of University members permitted via a special pass. To get on the shuttle you need to prove that you are affiliated with the University. I have never once been asked for my ID, however, and as I rode the shuttle last week to investigate, no one else I saw was asked either.
Most of the people getting on the shuttle looked like students. A few even had their IDs ready, though the drivers checked none of them. An elderly woman boarded without ID – the driver said she was an alumna – but I knew the alum the driver was talking about and this wasn’t her. The ride that day was uneventful, as I’m sure it usually is. Like I said, people at our University are generally trustworthy.
There are people both within and outside our community, however, who are not trustworthy. I’ve had several friends mugged at gunpoint this year and have read stories about others. These incidents all occurred while people were walking to their homes, close to the University. The shuttle system transports students further from the University than walking could take them, putting the students at further risk. Incidents are not likely to happen on the shuttle itself, where the perpetrator would have a difficult time escaping. But once the shuttle has dropped you off, you’re on your own. What about criminals using the shuttle as a way to get access to students, or as a getaway?
If you don’t check IDs, how can you be sure someone is who they say they are? Lots of people look like students or faculty who aren’t. Generally, if you’re between the ages of, say, 17 and 70, you could pull off either role. I don’t know the exact number of 17-to-70-year-olds in our community, but I’m guessing it’s a pretty large number.
If the University claims that they want the shuttle system to be safe, they should actually make it so. They have all these signs and notices about an ID being required, but in my experience, these postings are nothing more than a waste of ink if they’re not actually enforced. What about when the MetroLink opens in a few months? No doubt the shuttle will stop there. And with the increased crime that MetroLink will bring, how will we make sure our students are safe?
There are a few ways to resolve, or at least improve upon the state of this issue. First, mandate that all drivers check IDs – check them, not glance at them – and have an enforcement policy that provides escalating penalties for those that don’t. Also, define the driver’s right to remove or refuse entry to anyone on the system should he or she be unable to prove their University affiliation. Another option would be to go to a swipe-card system popular on major bus systems across the country.
I was unable to reach Transportation Services to get a comment on these issues. From my personal experience and shared stories of others, however, there is clearly a problem with our ID checking policy. Transportation Services needs to examine what’s going on here and work to do something about it, because while 99 percent of the time everything might be fine, that remaining one percent is not worth the risk.
Jeff is a senior in Arts & Sciences.