Members of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh community have a new option for ensuring safe travel to and from areas near campus at night.

UWO GO officially launched at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, and is running seven days a week when school is in session. It is offered to currently enrolled students and employees.

“The service functions much like Uber and Lyft, but is free of cost to all UW Oshkosh students,” said Jacob Banfield, UW Oshkosh student body president.

Drivers are Community Service Officers (CSOs) with the University Police who are students at UW Oshkosh.

Hours of operation are from 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights; and from 4 p.m. to midnight on Sunday and Monday nights.

The non-emergency service is managed by the UW Oshkosh Police Department and funded by the Oshkosh Student Association.

“This program is a great way to get to and from areas on and off campus with the protection of our student Community Service Officers and, as long as the person requesting the ride is within the program boundaries, our drivers go directly to the location where the rider requests,” said UW Oshkosh Police Capt. Chris Tarmann.

Easy to use

To use the service, follow three steps:

• Download the UWO Mobile application.
• Click on Oshkosh Campus
• Go to UWO GO to request your ride

Tarmann noted UW Oshkosh Police still offer Safewalks seven days a week between 7:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.

“This program replaces the Saferide program,” Tarmann said. “The new program has a more sophisticated ride request and management platform. Users start their rides and end them like they would on a service like Uber. There is an expanded boundary that the service will travel in, and we’ve added some rules to the service to better protect the people who use the program.”

Titan Stadium and Lot 39 as well as a number of establishments on Main Street and a Walgreens and Pick ‘n Save are within the service boundary.

Riders can have one bag with them, per person, no larger than the size of a typical backpack. One exception is for groceries, where riders are allowed to have two bags of groceries on their ride.

Vaping, smoking or drinking alcohol are not allowed.

More information on UWO GO boundaries and rules is available on the UW Oshkosh Police Department website.