Transportation Services Director David Allen responded to student concerns about the university’s NITE Ride service yesterday, telling the University Senate’s security task force that limited resources make it impossible to eliminate long waits.

“Public transit is never as convenient as walking or driving,” Allen said during comments that included addressing concerns over why Shuttle-UM drivers don’t check for student IDs on all routes.

Allen is one of several university officials who have answered questions during a wide-ranging probe into the campus’ security practices. The review was prompted in part by an FBI release that showed this university had the third-most violent crimes of universities with large undergraduate populations, although record numbers of robberies in 2005 also prompted concern.

NITE Ride, a service that offers free transportation during late-night hours on and around the campus, has frequently been cited as a way to avoid victimization by police. But students have frequently complained the service is not efficient in picking students up and have opted to risk walking instead.

Security experts have frequently recommended late-night ride services as a way to reduce crime, but the senate task force is looking at a wide swath of student complaints and concerns, ranging from poor lighting to 911 calls, in an effort to beef up security. The committee is due to submit a full report to the Senate Executive Committee late next month.

A preliminary report shows the committee is examining several issues not previously raised, such as whether students know how to contact University Police in an emergency. Because 911 calls placed from cell phones are routed to the county, students have complained they received a slow response on the campus. In one case, students’ home was being broken into and police took more than 20 minutes to respond. Police later said the students should have called police at a campus extension rather than 911.

The document also shows the committee is reviewing concerns that blue light emergency phones aren’t always accessible in large parking lots because the phones are usually installed on the perimeter. The preliminary report shows placing more on the perimeter could be the most cost-effective option.

Yesterday, the committee reviewed whether DOTS should expand checking IDs, but Allen told the committee his department considers it is more important that students get transported without showing IDs than being forced off to wait in dangerous areas. Only commuter buses, such as those that travel to Silver Spring Metro Station, require that students show ID.

Holes in the system exist, however. In one recent notorious incident, a man on a commuter bus boarded without ID, then exposed himself as he masturbated in front of a female student. When Campus Affairs Committee Chair Gene Ferrick asked Allen about the effectiveness of cameras on buses, Allen reminded the committee that the cameras were used to film the masturbator.

Allen, however, said that incident aside, transportation on campus is very safe. He cited numerous safety systems on buses, including a button that, when pressed, automatically calls police. He added that bus drivers are encouraged to stop the bus in any situation which they find unsafe.

University Police Chief Kenneth Krouse discussed University Police’s effort to deter gun violence on and near the campus, especially by hiring new officers and working with Prince George’s County Police. Last week, University Police graduated 11 new officers, whose job will be to patrol violence prone areas.

Krouse admitted that the new force does enforce other laws, like those regulating drug and alcohol use, but said that the primary purpose of the increased police presence is to increase the area that police can ensure safety for.

Contact reporter Nathan Cohen at cohendbk@gmail.com.