Temple revamps Flight shuttle service with help from engineering students
The brains behind the project are current and former engineering students Daniel Hedberg, Therese Toczek and Thomas Demianovich.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It started as a school project, but now recommendations from a group of students have led to safety improvements at Temple University.
The university is relaunching its nighttime shuttle service, known as Flight. The goal is to keep college students safe.
The brains behind the project are current and former College of Engineering students Daniel Hedberg, Therese Toczek and Thomas Demianovich. They know firsthand what it takes to be safe at Temple.
"We wanted to create a system that works for students, something more fuel efficient and cost-effective for the university," said Toczek.
It's a revamp of their Flight system which gives students a safe ride on and off campus.
"It really started from personal and anecdotal evidence that the current system wasn't working and students were unhappy. They ignored it and walked places. Temple being a place that isn't always safe, that's not the safest option," explained Hedberg. "A lot of the people that are in control don't necessarily ride it every day. And a lot of people in control at Temple go home when the sun goes down, and us students are left with those systems."
The old Flight system worked like Uber. Students could request and cancel Flights, and it wasn't keeping up with demand.
There are more than 40 stops in their new patrol zone from 18th and Susquehanna to 9th and Jefferson.
"A student can go to a stop, download one of our apps and see where the shuttle is," said Ken Kaiser the senior VP and Chief Operating Officer at Temple University.
The students came up with a traditional bus loop service strictly based on the data collected from Temple in October 2018 and 2019. However, there are some changes in what they initially proposed.
"We think this is a great first step at choosing a system that prioritizes safety over convenience," said Hedberg.
They are curious to see what new data will show and hope to make a difference.
"I was ecstatic to leave a mark on Temple," said Demianovich.
A soft launch is already underway. The official launch is this Saturday. The buses will be running from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week. Click here to learn more.
