As of September 2024, we have been notified that Gopher Chauffeur will be taken over by the Department of Public Safety in Spring 2025. This merge greatly changes the mission behind our service and will remove current and future GC employees. 

Since 2007, Gopher Chauffeur has been run by students with the purpose to promote safety in the campus community by providing students with safe rides home. The addition of DPS challenges the student-run aspect of the service. Students may also feel less inclined to use knowing that it is managed by a power higher than students.

Gopher Chauffeur employees and riders were not considered in this decision. GC is one of the few student jobs that allow safety and reliability for students while also maintaining a desirable workplace for their employees. Current employees will be losing their positions as a result of this change.

DPS taking over Gopher Chauffeur will completely rearrange the purpose and responsibilities of being an employee. Many of the potential changes do not align with our mission as students. Because of this change, almost none of our current team plan to continue in the service come Spring.

Our role in the community is to give rides from point A to point B, to students by students. We ask for employee and rider’s voices to be taken into consideration in this change. Let’s keep Gopher Chauffeur run for students by students.