Every single time a safety alert is sent out to the Marquette community, it’s followed by a notice from the Marquette University Police department reminding students to take the LIMO.
Amy Oltendorf, a police sergeant for MUPD and the manager of the Department of Campus Safety, said that there is a higher demand for LIMO rides currently on campus. Oltendorf said there is a recent delay in response time of LIMOs due to staffing issues.
“The Department of Campus Safety is a student-run organization and with the hours in which the department operates, sometimes it is not the most ideal job,” Oltendorf said in an email. “The current students that are employed with DCS are truly passionate about providing safety to the community and they enjoy the job, as it can be a fun place to work, but sometimes that is not always enough.”
Because Campus Safety is in need of LIMO drivers, they are now offering a $250 bonus to new hires. Oltendorf said she is hoping this will encourage more students to drive for campus safety.
Oltendorf also blamed the delayed response time on students not properly calling to cancel their request for the LIMO if they no longer need one.
“At Campus Safety, we also experience many ‘no shows’ at times. This will ultimately cause a delay in a LIMO getting to someone else in need of a safe ride,” Oltendorf said in an email.
Lucia Pechloff, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said that while she hasn’t called a LIMO herself, her friends said that it can take a while for the LIMO to arrive.
“It feels a little unsafe, especially waiting alone,” Pechloff said. “I’d be nervous to stay and wait for them (the LIMO) to arrive.”
Alauna Rupert, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, said that she could be on hold for the LIMO sometimes 10 minutes at a time.
As someone who takes the LIMO around four times a week, Rupert finds it frustrating to have to wait for so long.
“I just feel like Marquette needs to hire a third-party service for this again,” Rupert said. “For example, last weekend I had to order a Uber for a location that was three blocks away because the LIMO wasn’t answering.”
Due to social distancing protocols last year, the university continued offering campus transportation with GoRiteWay buses, temporarily replacing the LIMO vans.
Oltendorf said that Campus Safety is dealing with recent crime reports by “remaining diligent in their work.”
“The Department of Campus Safety has one main goal right now, and that is to hire more LIMO drivers to meet the demand on campus,” Oltendorf said in an email. “The Department of Campus Safety is committed to the safety of the Marquette community and hiring and training new employees is our key component to success right now.”
Alexandra Garner contributed to this report. She can be reached at [email protected]
This story was written by Phoebe Goebel and Megan Woolard. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected]
