New Smart Phone App to Keep Baylor Students Safe - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

Who would have thought a phone app could make college students safer on campus. But that's exactly what's going on at Baylor University.

The new app is making after-hours safer for students. Baylor's new app actually tracks a late-night on-campus shuttle. It uses GPS to let students know exactly when it will be at a destination, avoiding that late night walk across campus.

College life is not like a 9 to 5 job. Certain classes are assigned, and there's not much you can do about it. Justin Wofford knows the feeling. "Last year for one of my labs it ended at 8o'clock at night", says Wofford, a Junior at Baylor.  

But he's relieved to hear that a new phone app will help keep students safe. By showing them when and where a night shuttle will be. "Generally they take about 15 minutes to get to each stop and sometimes they can be like a little bit off so you'll be sitting outside longer than 15 minutes," says Wofford.

The 'Ride Systems' app lets you choose a campus and uses GPS to track the real time location of a shuttle. The university says they've seen it work for other campuses. "A lot of health care centers and other university campuses do use this kind of tracking as well. It's safety, it's predictability and it's a really neat thing to be able to offer to your students," says Lori Fogleman, with Baylor University.

Students know late night study sessions across campus are at time unavoidable. "I was going to the library like at 10 at night and my roommates were even scared of me going. They were like 'are you sure?' and with the bus through its really handy," says Alexa Morrison, a Baylor Sophomore.

But the high tech addition is making some, like Jennifer Njus, feel more comfortable. "It'll be nice to know that somebody's there for you when you're trying to get somewhere instead of wondering if the bus is going to be late," says Njus, a Freshman.

Justin says it'll give him peace of mind. While parents will also breathe a sigh of relief.  "When people look for colleges to go to generally you're going to look at the city, how safe it is and for parents to know that they have something like this at Baylor should really help out a lot for then to choose for their kids to come here," says Wofford.

The app is available for iPhone and android. You can also check the app out online at www.baylorshuttle.com 

Reporter: Tania Ortega

Photographer: Chris Buford