April Fools’: Pitt adding rickshaws to SafeRider service

After last week’s announcement by Pitt’s Student Government Board that students will have to… After last week’s announcement by Pitt’s Student Government Board that students will have to wait for improvements for the SafeRider system, Pitt’s transportation department has opted for a solution with some Old World flair.

“With the rising gas prices, it is time that Pitt adopts a new cost-effective SafeRider service. That’s why Pitt is purchasing a fleet of rickshaws,” Dirk O’Ginley, Pitt’s newly named director of human-powered transportation, said. “The chancellor knows how necessary this service is. That’s why he’s granting us the money to put down.”

Pitt will purchase 12 pull-rickshaws from a local supplier at a price of $900 each.

The new rickshaws are comfier than their predecessors, featuring cup holders, nylon canopies, trash receptacles and GasBGon seat cushions.

Currently, SafeRider sends out two shuttles on nights of operation. Reinforcement shuttles are available at peak hours, but O’Ginley said this is not efficient.

“Even though a shuttle can transport about 25 students at a time, the system is set up so students have to sit tight while the vans weave around campus. Rickshaws are more personal. They can take you where you need to go, fast,” O’Ginley said.

SafeRider currently has one phone line and the capacity to keep six callers on hold at a time. Students frequently complain to SGB president Sumter Fort that they cannot get through to the SafeRider operators when they need them the most.

“At the student government meeting, we figured that we didn’t have enough money to add more phone lines. I jokingly said that we’d just have to get some homing pigeons. But, people liked the idea,” he said.

Pitt hired a master pigeon trainer to train common pigeons to respond to the sound of certain whistles. The whistles will be distributed at Pitt Starts starting this May.

Students who need safe transport home will have to call a pigeon with their designated whistle. A pigeon will leave the base on top of the Cathedral of Learning and fly to the caller’s location within five minutes, O’Ginley guaranteed.

When the pigeon arrives, the student must slide his Pitt ID and a slip of paper identifying his location into the pigeon’s backpack. The pigeon will fly to the rickshaw dispatch location in the Schenley Quad where a rickshaw operator will receive the message.

Nearly 60 pigeons were taken at random for the SafeRider cause.

One of Pitt’s first rickshaw operators, Hans Olo, is delighted to have a job that fits his schedule.

“I like to run around at night anyway, so this job was a natural choice for me,” Olo said.

O’Ginley stressed that the eco-friendly rickshaw system will benefit everyone.

“Students will have a more efficient SafeRider system. The rickshaws are pretty much a one-time fee since we don’t have to pay for gas, just parts once in a while. And it will restore our faith in pigeons again,” he said.

In the winter, O’Ginley said the rickshaws will be equipped with snow tires, chains and heavy blankets for passengers.

Pitt received special permission from the Port Authority to use the bus lanes to minimize traffic congestion. The rickshaws are also required by the state to hang slow-moving-vehicle signs on the backs of the carriages.

Chatham University and Carnegie Mellon University are considering the possibility of a rickshaw SafeRider service as well.

Link also added that the seating capacity of the rickshaws will eliminate the stigma of SafeRider shuttles being “party buses.”

“Two’s company,” Fort said with a smile, “I expect the rickshaws will be like pleasant carriage rides in Central Park, only in Oakland.”

Fort believes that the transition will be easy for students.

“I think the students will be excited to ride in rickshaws.” he said. “I don’t foresee any problems.”