Cruising in Style
Students propose implementing innovative pedicab safe-ride service
Krista ClawsonTHE SANTA CLARAJanuary 21, 2016
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]on’t be confused if you see your partied-out peers being carted around campus in a rickshaw after a long Tuesday night at the Hut or a sweaty Saturday night dancing like a lunatic in a frathouse basement. Soon, this amusing sight may be commonplace.
Two Santa Clara students have founded a startup called “Buckshaw” to provide a safe-ride pedicab system for Santa Clarans.
“The way we’re framing it to the administration is a kind of middle ground between a safe-walk program and Uber,” said senior Jason Back, who developed the startup with junior Neil Datar.
They hope to operate the rickshaw-based transportation service within a half-mile radius of campus. Its business hours would be 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
They came up with the idea as a solution to Santa Clara’s lack of safe late-night transportation in and around campus.
“Currently, we don’t have a safe-walk program, which, I think, is one of the reasons the administration has been so receptive to this idea and has been helping us out in some ways,” Back said.
Back and Datar, who both hold positions in Associated Student Government, hope to use university resources in launching their business venture.
“We hope to run the company as an independent, student-run enterprise with strong connections to both SCU and ASG,” Datar said.
If the university risk management office gives Back and Datar the green light, the Santa Clara community can anticipate three “shaws,” as the carts will be called, zooming around the campus and neighborhood.
Back hopes to see his vision become a reality by the end of this school year.
“Part of our hope is that once we decide upon a model, with the support of the administration and the proper copyrights, we can paint the shaws Santa Clara Bronco colors,” Back said.
A mobile application for Buckshaw is in the works, which would allow students to summon a shaw directly to their location.
Back and Datar want to develop a system in which students can use flex points to pay drivers.
The pair is also exploring the option of letting students purchase shares of Buckshaw.
Looking into the future, they also want to partner with student clubs as well as off-campus organizations to form contracts with Buckshaw, ensuring safe rides home for their members when they host nighttime events.
“We’re very interested in anyone on campus reaching out to us if they are interested in the company,” Back said.
Some students have voiced support for Buckshaw and said they would use the service.
“I think it would be really cool to have this option for getting home safely,” said sophomore Sydney Munson. “It kind of goes along with the tight-knit community of our school.”
Others have hesitations about the venture.
“One concern I would have is knowing that whoever is operating the cart is responsible, considering cars can sometimes get going quickly around here, but overall I definitely like the concept and hope the school considers it,” said junior Melene Agakanian.
The pair acknowledged that it would be difficult to secure a license for drivers to transport riders around the neighborhood, but plan to continue ensuring that all legal concerns are sorted out and that safety measures are implemented.
Datar said that Tedd Vanadilok, Director of Campus Programs, was instrumental in connecting them with the administrative officials as they have explored their business options.
The duo originally proposed the idea in November 2015 at the annual Santa Clara Entrepreneurs Organization Elevator Pitch Competition. They beat out 11 other competitors and won $250.
Contact Krista Clawson at kclawson@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.