The Guardian’s editorial on the subject not only helps to educate the UCSD public about the change in service, but also goes a long way toward building public support for its re-establishment. Two years ago, in the months before I founded the ³Triton Taxi from TJ² program, the Guardian published an editorial endorsing my proposal. Not only did that give me encouragement and affirmation, but it also provided me with an effective bat to swing at a skeptical administration and a cash-strapped A.S. Council. That’s just the sort of responsible activism we should expect from a campus newspaper.

However, I do not believe that we should admonish Commissioner of Student Services Kelly Vasant for signing a contract that preserves the original, and most heavily used, parts of the popular Triton Taxi program. Instead, we should provide encouragement and funding for a resumption in border service.

Cloud 9 Shuttles provides Safe Ride service to UCSD and SDSU at a cost that is dramatically lower than they charge to their private and corporate customers. Cloud 9 has also proven to be flexible and reliable in accommodating students, and has generated far fewer complaints than the Triton Taxi’s previous contractor. If A.S. is to change their contractor, they will have a difficult time finding a new provider with such high levels of service.

Cloud 9 may well be the best and only company in San Diego able to meet the needs of the Triton Taxi program. Further negotiations with them should therefore be encouraged. If Cloud 9 is unable or unwilling to resume border service, a separate and additional contractor might be enlisted, instead of abandoning Cloud 9 altogether.

Whenever there is a change in the Triton Taxi service provider, the thousands of Triton Taxi stickers already issued are voided, requiring each and every student to sign a new waiver and receive a new sticker. This enormous process is not only administratively difficult and costly, but also creates an unwanted barrier to student safety.

If readers want to help Commissioner Vasant resume safe rides from the border, e-mail her so she can show the A.S. Council and the administration just how much you care: [email protected].

‹Colin Parent

2001-02 A.S. Commissioner of Student Services and Enterprises