Township distributes Student Lifeline cards for free emergency taxi rides

The Princeton Township Police will distribute 1,500 Student Lifeline cards this week, which qualify their holders for free taxi rides in emergency situations — but their program is not targeted at the University.

Student Lifeline is a N.Y.-based company that produces the cards and subsidizes the rides from area cab companies, according to the organization's website.

The card can be used to avoid drunk driving situations and threatening dates. They also provide transportation for vehicle breakdowns, crime victims and abused children.

Township Police Patrolman Geoffrey Maurer will hand out the cards to students and senior citizens in the area. He will distribute them at Princeton High School, Princeton Day School and Stuart County Day School, as well as a local senior housing complex and youth organizations.

"I thought about distributing the cards at the University," Maurer said.

He hesitated, he said, because he had doubts about how college students would use them.

"I was wary of giving out the cards and then have them not be used in the proper fashion," he said.

He emphasized that he did not want University students to think of it as a free ride home from the 'Street.'

"They are really to be used for emergency situations," he said.

Maurer said, however, that he would leave some Student Lifeline cards at the Public Safety office in Stanhope Hall for University students.

The cards, which bear both the number of a local taxi service and an emergency 800 number, are valid 24 hours a day for one year and pay for taxi rides of up to $100.

But the taxi driver has the right to refuse to drive someone if he does not feel comfortable with the situation, Maurer said.

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Township Police heard about Student Lifeline from an unsolicited fax they received from the organization.

Maurer, who is in charge of the D.A.R.E. substance abuse education program for district schools, said drunk driving is always a concern.

This concern prompted the police department to pursue the idea. To raise money for the free and anonymous service, a Student Lifeline representative solicited area merchants to sponsor the cost of the program.

The University could also independently distribute Student Lifeline cards themselves by contacting the company directly, Maurer said.

The step that the police department is taking to distribute these cards is in accord with the recent interactions between local officials and the University on alcohol-related issues.

"Lately there has been a collaborative effort between the town and the University," said Robert Schiraldi, a senior staff psychologist for health services. "People want to work together to provide help and support for students."