Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol will begin offering services to wheelchair users in mid-December.
University Police Capt. Jeff Holcomb said the new minivan is designed for one wheelchair and has a bench rear for up to four friends traveling with the wheelchair user. The van will be designated for wheelchair users and their groups, and it will not be used for overflow passengers.
In the event that someone calls to ask for the van, an available SNAP worker will pick up the wheelchair-accessible van and get the waiting student.
UF’s Transportation and Parking Services ordered and paid for the $41,118 van, Director Scott Fox wrote in an email.
Fox said this is the first request for rides from wheelchair users.
Holcomb said the idea was brought to University Police by student senators.
During Spring, Dounia Bendris, now a 20-year-old art junior, wrote a letter to senators explaining the problems she had getting home because she would stay in the art studio late into the night, and SNAP was not wheelchair-accessible.
After 11 p.m., there was no option for wheelchair users provided by UF’s transportation services.
“RTS certainly is an option, which we encourage students to use!” Fox wrote. “At the same time — if some students have access to SNAP, we believe all students should have access to SNAP.”
Currently, the SNAP fleet includes four 15-passenger vans. The new van will not be included in the fleet but will be available to SNAP for nights and weekends, Holcomb said.
During the day, the van may be used for Gator Lift, Campus Cab service or conventional transportation needs, Fox said.
The Campus Cab taxi service is used for official university business. Gator Lift is used for UF students, faculty and staff who have temporary or permanent disabilities, according to the transportation website. Transportation services has three Gator Lift vehicles that can accommodate ten passengers and two wheelchairs. Fox said a Gator Lift vehicle has a hydraulic lift that requires specialized training.
The new wheelchair-accessible van can be driven by SNAP workers, and drivers can operate the foldout wheelchair ramp with little training, he said.
Contact Samantha Shavell at sshavell@alligator.org.
