ASA reconstructs transportation program
In 2020, the Augustana Student Association began partnering with the rideshare company Lyft to provide students access to subsidized transportation. This year, amid rising costs and budget concerns, ASA announced significant changes to the transportation program.
ASA’s new hybrid transportation program uses a combination of the previous Viking Lyft program, the Sioux Area Metro (SAM) public transit and Sioux Falls’ public rideshare service, SAM On Demand. ASA’s changes will save $10,000 annually and cover 25 more students than the previous Lyft partnership.
The new program provides accepted students a SAM bus pass with unlimited free rides through SAM On Demand.
As opposed to normal bus lines, the SAM On Demand app takes users anywhere in Sioux Falls. Riders select where in the city they want to go, and the app calculates the most efficient route.
In some cases, the most direct route is taking one of nine bus lines, though if a bus line is down, running late or riders need to travel where bus lines do not reach, the app connects students to one of the service’s minivans.
There are some limitations to the new system as opposed to Lyft.
SAM On Demand operates on a “corner-to-corner” system. This means that riders often need to walk a short distance to a designated pick-up point; furthermore, users must schedule their ride up to 20 minutes before their trip. The service is not available on Sunday and is limited to 5:45 a.m. to 9:25 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:45 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. on Saturdays.
Due to these limitations with SAM On Demand, students still have access to ten discounted rides through Lyft, a decrease from the six rides per month available through Ride Smart.
ASA recommends users save their Lyft rides for Sundays and other times SAM On Demand services are unavailable.
“There will be changes in lifestyle, and that might make us a bit uncomfortable initially because now you have to go to a bus stop where Lyft would just come and pick you up,” ASA Vice President Prince Adhikari said. “That might create some problems in the winter, and as the temperature keeps falling down, we are still looking at how we can solve that.”
Junior Patrick Adah began using SAM On Demand this summer, prior to ASA adopting the program. While he says his experiences with the app have been mostly positive, he shared concerns about distance to pick-up points.
“The last time I used [SAM On Demand], I was actually traveling to the airport,” Adah said. “I had to walk from Stavig to Kiwanis which is [over a mile] and just thought that if someone got a lot of groceries and stuff, trying to take that to your room could be a little bit of a walk.”
Adah, like the majority of students using the program, is an international student. Heather Edmunds Reed, interim co-director of international programs, explained that international students are less likely to have a vehicle on campus.
“ASA’s program has provided international students much broader access to the community of Sioux Falls, both for life logistics and also enjoying our community, which is their home for at least four years,” Edmunds Reed said.
During a meeting this summer, ASA met with IPO and international students to gather student perspectives before implementing the new model.
As the SAM On Demand program develops, ASA will continue to evaluate transportation and make adjustments based on student feedback. Adhikari hopes students will share their opinions on the new program.
“Please be honest with the feedback,” Adhikari said. “Even if it’s negative, we will not take it in a bad way. That actually helps us to improve [the program].”
