A couple of years ago, a West Chester University student created a facebook group called “WCU Late Night/Safety Bus.” The group promoted the idea of having a bus that would make a trip from South Campus to Market Street in order to give students a safe way of getting to the bars and back to their apartments. Now, during the spring 2010 semester, that vision has come true for many students through the hard work of a WCU alumnus, Jared Savitski.
Savitski is the founder of Paradise Transportation, a late night party bus that provides students a safe way of getting around at night.
Jared Savitski was a Criminal Justice major at West Chester.
“I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My father owned his own business. My grandfather owned his own business. It was in my blood to be a business owner as well.”
“The concept was relatively easy to grasp. Anyone that has ever been a student at West Chester understood the need for a safe, reliable, and fun means of late night transportation.”
Savitski explained that he wanted to provide fellow students with a safe way of getting around the borough. “I wanted this service to stand out and appeal to students. This is why I added special features to the bus such as disco balls, black lights, and speakers. I received moral support from the University but funding is privatized.” Jared is currently trying to find advertisers to put ads on the interior as well as the exterior to help provide funding for the bus. Jared noted that he hoped to work with the University later on for funding.
There is an affordable cost to riding Paradise Transportation. The price is $3 for a one way trip and $5 for rides all night.
So with the University’s dry campus policy, how did Savitski provide a service to get students to the bars and back? “The process I had to endure was quite extensive. I had to apply through the state. I actually applied for this when I was still a student but it took a very long time to get approved. The process was very long but well worth it. Thankfully the state approved me and now I can make the student’s lives easier and more enjoyable.”
He also explained how he is not going against any school policies. “I firmly believe that this does not go against any of the Universities polices. I provide a safe, yet fun transportation service to the student body. I have a zero tolerance policy for drinking on the bus. I am merely providing the students with safe ride to their designed location and nothing more.”
So how will students benefit from the service? “Safety is and always will be our number one goal. For example, those who live at South Campus will have a safe ride to and from uptown locations until 3 am. It also provides a convenient mode of transportation to town without having the frustration of driving your car. Students will not have to worry about DUI’s or having to leave their car in town. Instead the students can enjoy themselves at a nice dinner or a drink without having to worry about how they will return home safely.”
Savitski wants to prevent students from having to make that long and tiring trip up High street to the bars.
Paradise Transportation provides a safe way of getting to town and back from 7pm-3pm from Thursday to Saturday. The bus makes many loops from The Clubhouse on South Campus to the West Chester Commons to the Borough. “We do approximately 20 minute loop times. However, we allow the students to call a designed phone line (215-839-9BUS) and we tell the student where our exact location is in our loop so the student does not have to wait outside for very long.”
Angela Thomas is a third-year student majoring in English education. She can be reached at AT683005@wcupa.edu