On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the new LoboLift service was officially launched as a way to safely move around campus after hours.
The program is being funded through a partnership between the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico, Parking and Transportation Services and UNM President Garnett Stokes.
The LoboLift program currently has three vehicles that pick up and transport students, staff and other faculty to and from any location on the main UNM campus. Commuters can call 505-706-3430 to have a LoboLift pick them up from UNM’s Central Campus during evening hours.
LoboLift will run Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., with the last pickup at 10:45 p.m. When calling LoboLift, the dispatcher must verify the rider’s LoboID before a vehicle is sent to the pickup location, to ensure safety.
Each LoboLift vehicle has a camera to provide security, and if there is suspicious activity, the LoboLift driver can relay that information directly to UNMPD via the vehicle’s radio.
Each cart is driven by trained student employees with no services being provided across city streets.
“Now you have golf carts running around all the time, so you get just that much more set(s) of eyes on something that can communicate it to the police immediately,” ASUNM President Andrew Norton said.
ASUNM began developing the LoboLift service in 2022, Norton said. PATS Director Shawn Arruti said ASUNM approached PATS during the Spring of 2025, seeking help to fund the LoboLift project.
“The missing piece for ASUNM was being able to partner with somebody who would make it operational,” Arruti said. “(Stokes’) office really wanted to see this get started for the spring semester, so the president’s office very generously appropriated $80,000 towards getting the LoboLift operational in time for the spring semester.”
Norton said there are future plans to extend the program to North Campus, but for now, the Central Campus pilot is set to run until June 30, then data and feedback will be analyzed by administrators to “inform decisions about continued funding for the program,” according to PATS.
Elizabeth Bolke is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
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