Oshkosh Student Association is offering a free van transportation system, UWO Go, to provide safe rides for students on or near campus starting in mid- to late October.

“This service will function very similar to Uber where an app that we’ve partnered with called TapRide will be incorporated into the UWO Mobile app,” OSA President Jacob Banfield said. “Students will log in with their NetIDs to then request a ride in a zoned area.”

OSA Speaker of Assembly Zackary DeBroux said this service will be beneficial to UWO because of how the program is set up.

“The individual driving the vehicles will be community service officers,” DeBroux said. “The CSOs are students, so the passengers will have peers that will safely drive them to their desired destination in the UWO Go boundaries.”

Banfield said UWO Go will be useful because students won’t have to wait for alternative forms of transportation.

“Students will be able to get rides on demand within the hours of operation in the designated areas,” Banfield said.

UWO Go will be operating Sunday and Monday from 4 p.m. to midnight and Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Banfield said inclement weather might affect hours of transportation.

“Weather in Wisconsin is unpredictable and we try to work through all weather,” Banfield said. “As a general rule, if the university closes due to weather, UWO Go will usually be closed.”

Banfield said the initiative for this service is to provide a more efficient transportation system for students, staff and faculty members.

“This has been a process that OSA’s been working since the day [OSA Vice President Ian McDonald] and I took office,” Banfield said. “I look forward to seeing students be able to utilize a great service that they can use on a day-to-day basis.”

McDonald said this system is practical and modern.

“I’m excited about UWO Go because the students will finally have a 21st-century transportation system that is convenient and cost-effective,” McDonald said.

OSA adviser Jean Kwaterski said she gives Banfield and McDonald a lot of credit for trying to save students money with this idea.

“The old Titan Transit service wasn’t being utilized that much,” Kwaterski said. “UWO Go will cost quite a bit less than Titan Transit, and I think students will find it more useful.”