The UND Student Senate will likely change its contract with a Grand Forks taxi company because a service that provides discounted rides to students costs more than current funding, said Student Body President Tyrone Grandstrand.
On Sunday, Grandstrand presented senators with information on the existing five-year contract with Red, White & Blue Taxi and Shuttle, and said they plan to vote next Sunday.
He said multiple options are on the table, all basically deciding if the Senate will continue to subsidize the Cab Crawler program and if it will give incentives for people to ride together. The current contract was signed about two years ago, and specified that Student Government would subsidize $4 per ride and students each pay $1.
But even with $60,000 allocated annually to Cab Crawler, the program went over budget and was projected to cost $75,000 to $80,000 each year. Senators changed the contract to charge students $3, with no government subsidy.
Grandstrand said the taxi company wants a more consistent plan in place, and there are three main options:
ADVERTISEMENT
- Charge single riders $4, $2 for each rider in a group of two or more, and no Student Government funding.
- Single riders would pay $3 and Student Government would subsidize $1. Each rider in a group of two or more would pay $2 and not receive a subsidy.
- All riders would pay $2, and Student Government would fund $2 for each rider.
Grandstrand said all three choices are nearly equal in how much students and student fees will pay combined for the program. But the senators' decision could influence how environmentally friendly and government-funded the program will be, he said. "They basically make the choice now between subsidizing Cab Crawler or not, and giving incentives for people to ride together or not," he said.
The Senate is also looking at the fairness in making everyone pay for the program through student fees, whethr they use it or not. Grandstrand said options being looked at now would put more of the cost on the users but pointed out the program is still a great deal.
He said a regular one-mile ride with Red, White & Blue would cost $8.40 -- more than double the $4 charge that could become the new rate after the contract changes.
