UF students who need a ride after dark can now make a request with a new smartphone application, SNAP UF.
The free app, which was released Dec. 6 by the Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol, shows where vans are in real time on a map and gives alerts when a van is approaching.
The app is available for download on iOS and Android platforms, said UPD officer Gregory Castronover, but students will not be able to make ride requests for a few weeks.
Castronover, who runs the day-to-day operations of SNAP, said the GPS technology is still being installed into SNAP vans.
The app is sponsored by UF Student Government, Transportation and Parking Services and University Police.
Developing the app and its updates, which cost about $10,000, is funded by student parking tickets.
Student government agency Nightlife Navigators approached Totuit, a mobile platform development company based in UF’s Innovation Hub, with the idea of creating an app in summer 2012.
“It’s a responsibility we are giving students, that they should take advantage of their transportation services,” said Cristian Arango, director of Nightlife Navigators and a 20-year-old history and political science junior. “It’s funded by students, for students.”
“We hope it’s gonna make it a lot easier for everybody — students and employees,” Castronover said.
Contact Colleen Wright at cwright@alligator.org.
