DOTS is introducing a campus-run vehicle charter service for airport transportation, VIP visits and more in response to demand from the university community.
The service, dubbed the “UMD SUV,” provides both an airport service and a standard service. Students and staff can rent a Ford Expedition and its driver to take them to BWI airport for $55, Dulles for $90 and Reagan National for $55. The standard service costs $60 per hour, and clients are required to use the service for at least two hours.
In the past, offices on the campus have hired outside services for rides, but with this new competitively priced service, university departments can get what they need at a lower cost.
For outside companies, it was challenging to take clients to specific points on the campus, said Beverly Malone, Department of Transportation Services assistant director
“The campus doesn’t really have addresses. That can make pick-ups difficult for a traditional service,” Malone said. “The vehicle is well-appointed, and the drivers have been hand-picked from the Shuttle-UM staff.”
Charter reservations can be made online at any time, and the first 20 people to register for a ride will receive their first trip for free. This includes one ride to an airport or the first two hours of a longer reservation.
Students said they welcome the service as a way to make traveling easier. Sophomore animal sciences major Jacob Held plans on flying home for the holidays, and he says getting to the airport is difficult.
“Right now I have to walk to the Metro station, take the Metro to Greenbelt and then take a B30 bus to BWI airport,” Held said. “It’s quite the hassle that would really be eliminated with a charter service.”
Students agree the SUV rides would be convenient, but many worry about the cost of this transportation.
“That is quite pricey. For me, I do not think that I would use it,” said Emily Weiss, a freshman American studies major. “But I guess it is worth offering because some people are bound to use it.”
Freshman Arabic studies major Ryan Greenstein agrees.
“It’s barely $5 on the Metro, and I would get a ride from a friend if I had too much luggage or for some reason Metro wouldn’t work,” Greenstein said.
If money was not an issue, many students said they would take advantage of this new resource, but the cost of the SUV service is a lot to swallow for students on a budget.
“Considering the price of my boarding pass is not much more than the $55 it would cost to go to BWI with the SUV, I think I would just continue to take the bus from Greenbelt,” sophomore journalism major Jackson Molleur said. “It’s only $6 and is fairly easy to get to.”
