New van to assist in additional routes, add off-campus pickup for students
Steer Clear, a student-run service that provides free transportation around campus, will add a second van to help students of the College of William and Mary within a three-mile radius of campus on Friday and Saturday nights.
Over 1,500 passengers used the service last year. Of those, two-thirds were on-campus passengers, and one-third were driven to or from locations off-campus.
According to Steer Clear Director Will Sealy ’09, one van will carry passengers around campus and the delis while the other will work off campus. He added that the second van will make the service more efficient.
Only one van will run Thursday nights.
Although Steer Clear’s services start tonight, the second van will not be operational for about three weeks.
“We are working on getting a second cell phone, increasing the staff to 45 drivers and co-pilots, and this process will lead to the second van,” Sealy said.
Student Assembly Sen. Caroline Mullis ’09, chair of the finance committee, said that this year the program will receive more funding through a bill passed by the SA at the end of last semester.
This funding makes possible the use of a second van.
“There seemed to be such an overwhelming response last semester,” she said. “They did a good job of demonstrating that there was demand for another van and that the presence of [Steer Clear] was important.”
Sealy said that Steer Clear is currently recruiting drivers for the upcoming semester.
“Drivers need to be able to handle stressful situations and cooperate with campus police,” Sealy said.
Steer Clear is available from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday and 9:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The phone number is 757-221-3748.
