March 7, 2011

Oversight, route changes set for Homewood Security Escort Van

The Homewood Security Escort Van will be transitioned from the Security Office to the Office of Parking and Transportation on April 1 and, with recommendations from the Student Government Association and support from Homewood Student Affairs and University Administration, the service will alter its focus to more of a route-based transportation system in the coming months. Parking and Transportation will continue to provide both routes and point-to-point passenger services.

One of the first transition steps will be to rename the service. So that members of the Johns Hopkins community can cast their votes for a new name, which will be announced by early April, an SGA-sponsored poll.

A contract to operate the service has been won in a competitive bidding process by Broadway Services Inc., which will take it over April 1. Current employees have been encouraged to apply for positions with BSI.

For the first several months, BSI will operate the service in much the current model while studying data and ridership to evaluate potential changes. Additional route services are expected to be added by the fall semester, and point-to-point services will be provided only to areas not served by the routes.

Greg Smith, director of Parking and Transportation, said that plans include installing a GPS system on each van to help management and users keep track of vehicle locations and reduce waiting times.