As an orientation adviser, I have the honor of laying out life as a Terp to hordes of incoming freshmen, transfer students and their family members. The same questions always come up, and the routine answers would feel worn down from overuse if I weren’t so certain my reassurances, cautionary tales and words of encouragement are still making a difference.

Lately, safety is a main concern. A freak occurrence and weird weather have given the sometimes-erratic university alert system quite a bit of mileage recently, but I truly believe this university keeps students safe in an otherwise questionable region. One of my jobs is to make sure the newest Terps know what’s what: how to stay safe, where not to be and how to get help. Most resources we have are solid – that much I believe – but personal experience is telling me the NITE Ride service is not the safety resource it’s sometimes billed as.

I always tell new students about NITE Ride and, in principle, it sounds great. If you feel unsafe, call. If you’re by yourself, call. If you can’t make it home, call. If the bus is taking forever, call. But it’s not so simple; what is theoretically a great idea has proven inconsistent.

I live about one mile off the campus; it’s not particularly far, but farther than I’d like to walk during the ever-ominous “Crime Time.” Granted, I knowingly rented a home with friends away from the general campus community and outside of the reliable shuttle system, so in some ways, I knowingly passed up a safer location. Yet my neighborhood is full of students who can’t get a ride.

Last year, NITE Ride would drive up to Plato’s Diner to pick up students, though recently I’ve been told I would need to walk to CVS to get a ride. At that point, I’ve made most of the 20-minute walk to the campus, by myself, through the dangerous and poorly lit areas. So if I was feeling unsafe to start, I’m probably not much better off. I understand NITE Ride travels within the jurisdiction of the Shuttle-UM system only, though after contradictory messages, I’m unsure where that is and question where it should be.

In addition to the inconsistencies in pickup location, I find that different drivers have wildly different theories about who gets picked up. I’ve seen some drivers turn down one weary traveler whereas other drivers allow big groups to stretch their numbers, turning a safety function into a glorified drunk bus. Undoubtedly, great consideration must be given to who is riding the shuttles, but the number of rides I’ve seen denied does tug on my humanitarian impulse. There must be a better way.

Sometimes, pick-ups are refused over the phone because another Shuttle bus is coming “soon.” Most times, “soon” means 45 minutes, barring the few times it magically appears in fewer than 30 seconds. This leaves students who may be in unsafe scenarios waiting around – in unsafe scenarios. NITE Ride hasn’t proven to be the swiftest hare among terrapins either, often asking students to wait around for long periods of time before it can show up.

Obviously, NITE Ride can’t be perfect. But it’s a great idea that, if its potential were maximized, could actually help students. With a small, nebulous jurisdiction, sometimes slow service and a weird tendency to pick up an extra drunkie but leave a lonely student alone, there are plenty of areas in which this important service should start picking up the slack.

Jake DeVirgiliis is a senior government and politics major. He can be reached at devirgiliis@umdbk.com