Two friends are looking to revolutionize the way University of Massachusetts students get home from the parties and gatherings that earn their school the nickname "ZooMass."
The Designated Drivers Club of Amherst, when fully operational, is expected to provide a solution to a classic college student grievance while also benefitting non-student residents and business owners in surrounding towns.
Matthew Ray Alvey, a senior studying communication and journalism, explained that a sober ride home is "safer than a lot of alternatives." Readily available rides home are expected to result in a decline in the number of acts of vandalism committed each year.
"A lot of that stuff happens because people are drunk and get angry that they have so far to walk," Alvey said.
Still in its trial phase, the Designated Drivers Club of Amherst (DDCoA) currently exists only on Facebook, which, combined with flyers distributed around campus, has so far been the sole means through which group members learn when rides will be available.
Alvey co-founded the group with friend Marquis Hunt, a UMass alum. Alvey, 21, and Hunt, now 23, met during Alvey's freshman year when both students lived in Central's Gorman dormitory.
Alvey said the idea for the designated driver service was sparked by a frustrating experience Hunt had while still at UMass in which he was stranded in Northampton in the early hours of the morning. Aware that the next bus for Amherst would not come for several hours, Hunt was compelled to temporarily "borrow" an unattended bike so he could make the 9.1-mile trip down treacherous Route 9.
Hunt ultimately made it home safe, and promptly returned the bike the next day to the spot he found it, but the inconvenience of that night was not easily forgotten.
The fledgling system has a few kinks to work out before it can operate the way its founders envision. One major obstacle is that neither Hunt nor Alvey owns a car, meaning they depend on sporadic support from volunteers.
Another problem is that demand for rides is already high, so the sober ride service is currently only available to students in Amherst and Hadley. Finally, the buddy system of two sober members per vehicle, though safer for volunteers, has led to scheduling conflicts, so rides have so far been offered on only a handful of occasions.
Last week, the DDCoA submitted a formal application to the University to be recognized as a Registered Student Organization in a process that included drafting a constitution, formulating a mission statement and obtaining signatures from official members, of which Alvey estimates there are 30.
RSO status "kind of legitimizes us," Alvey said. "It will make it easier for us to book rooms where we can hold meetings."
Hunt and Alvey hope gaining RSO status will facilitate a greater volunteer participation.
Funding will be problematic for the group until it gains outside financial aid. Rides will have to remain free of cost, or drivers could potentially be charged with operating an illegal taxi service.
In the meantime, the group has employed innovative strategies to defray the soaring cost of oil, such as asking riders to make a $1 "donation" to the fund.
Despite these challenges, DDCoA has had promising student turnout on its first few trial runs. Alvey drove Friday and Saturday last week, bringing home 30-35 and 40-45 students, respectively. According to Alvey, only about 10 of the riders were personal friends of his and Hunt's. The remaining riders were "a lot of class of 2010 kids, which is great," he said, "because we don't want too many seniors to get dependent on the ride home and then suddenly not have it [when they graduate]."
Alvey explained that younger students are also better equipped to contribute to the ride share program's goal of sustainability, expressing hope that the group will be active on campus for many years.
In the meantime, he is cautiously optimistic about the group's success so far in advertising its services. The high turnout of Southwest residents during one of the past few weekends - despite that flyers were only placed in Central and Orchard Hill dormitory clusters - encouraged Alvey and Hunt.
"We are trying to put the word out slowly, because the worst thing that could happen is people call and we can't help them out," he said.
Part of the remedy to this problem will be that all potential riders will eventually be required to become members of the Facebook group in order for the co-founders to keep track of demand and recruit volunteers accordingly.
Rides are typically offered on Friday and Saturday nights between 11 p.m. and 3:15 a.m. The Facebook group is open, listing multiple suggestions of ways students can help the DDCoA, even those not interested in driving or lending their cars.
Students interested in volunteering as drivers must have a valid license and a clean driving record.
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