Olivia Proffit

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After the Cal Poly Panhellenic Council rejected a contract with SLO Safe Ride, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) negotiated a new deal to provide free shuttle services to the downtown area for fraternity members on Thursday and Friday nights.

The shuttles will run from the Hathaway area to downtown around Luna Red from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

“It provides a reliable, safe way home, which is always good. It reduces incidences of drunk driving, which is nice,” IFC President Alex Horncliff said. “Especially with the increasing downtown culture, it’s definitely something that’s becoming more robust to kinda finding a way for more guys to get home safely.”

Originally, the services would have cost $6,600 total, with sororities and fraternities splitting the cost evenly. The new cost of the service is $5,600, with IFC paying $3,600 and the individual chapters splitting the remaining $2,000 equally, according to Horncliff.

“It’s going to be beneficial because they are paying for the service in advance. Sometimes, money clouds judgment about whether to pay for a safe ride,” SLO Safe Ride co-owner Noah Raynor said. “They are guaranteeing a safe ride so they will always make the correct choice.”

Fraternity members using the service will be given a wristband. Those with wristbands can bring one guest along for a free ride. The guest does not have to be a greek member, according to Horncliff.

The cost of the service will not affect IFC’s overall budget, Horncliff said.

“This is money we already have,” Horncliff said. “We’re just looking for ways to try and spend it, to try and increase the value of being a greek member — giving them a way to use their money constructively and safely.”