-The Weekender rode NIU’s Late Night Ride Service from midnight to 4 a.m. last Friday and Saturday. This is our story. Note: Some names have been withheld to protect the innocent. Others we collected and exploited whenever possible.

12:30 a.m.: University Police station. It’s raining outside. Water beads drip down the bus’ windshield. The bus’ radio whispers a light, ascending pitter-patter of classical piano.

The Late Night Ride Service bus, “Big Red,” pulls up to the curb. I peer out from inside the police station and get on the bus.

12:41 a.m.: Grant North. After the passengers are dropped off, Late Night Ride Service driver Michael Hagerman taps the passenger counter on his dashboard four times. At the night’s end, Hagerman will write down the counter’s number.

He said an average weekend night brings in a little more than 200 passengers. The Super Bowl brought in 260 — his largest passenger traffic to date.

To the left of the counter is a black Maglite — Hagerman shines it out the window to find addresses.

12:56 a.m.: Grant North. An unnamed patron does not wait outside. Hagerman notifies dispatch. Dispatch calls the passenger. No answer. Hagerman works five nights a week. He has been driving the bus since December.

The Late Night Ride Service operates seven days a week; it begins at 10 p.m. and stops taking calls at 5:15 a.m.

1:12 a.m.: Pagliai’s Pizza. Five women dive into the bus and duck. Five squad cars, with lights blaring, sit in the lot next to Lukulo’s.

“You guys running from the police?” Hagerman asks.

“No! I don’t want my boyfriend to know I’m here,” one woman said.

The reporter asks the women for names, but they wish to remain anonymous.

“What happens in Late Night Ride Service stays there,” Hagerman said.

1:27 a.m.: en route to Kishwaukee Hospital. Hagerman tells an interesting story:

“One fellow stepped on the bus and someone had taken an electric clipper and did a willy-nilly to his head. Strips were cut through his hair and there was no pattern. It looked horrible, and he sat and talked like nothing happened. His girlfriend was with him, too, and he said, ‘I’m going to pick up chicks with this haircut,'” Hagerman said.

3:31 a.m.: Lincoln Hall. A male staggers outside Lincoln.

Hagerman said he looks drunk. The man stumbles into the Lucinda and Stadium intersection. Anxious drivers wait at three stop signs.

The male walks back to the sidewalk. Hagerman follows him into Douglas Hall with his eyes and said that he watches people.

“I don’t want to see them get hurt,” Hagerman said. He once drove one intoxicated female to a residence hall. She was incoherent. Alcohol poisoning, perhaps.

“I heard her friends tell her to ‘keep breathing,'” Hagerman said.

Hagerman said he offered to take her to the hospital, but her friends said she would be fine. After she left the van, Hagerman notified police.

“I thought, ‘This is somebody’s daughter. It’s just not worth it.'”

4:01 a.m.: University Apartments. I step out of the bus. Hagerman taps the counter — 64. A barely audible cello and piano waver as “Big Red,” with gleaming red headlights and a purring engine, pulls out of the apartment complex and drives off into the night.

-Saturday night’s V.I.P. driving service

12:05 a.m.: University Police station. I enter the police station to meet Late Night Ride Service driver Kristen Argo, 23, a self-described “working mother.” She drives the secondary van for the ride service, also known as “the bumblebee,” which is named for its black color and bright-yellow flashing lights. Her typical shifts are in the secondary bus during weekdays and weekend nights.

12:15 a.m.: UP station. The bumblebee departs the station. The pick-up is for a party of eight on Augusta Avenue. Argo has the radio set to rock music to help her stay awake during the late hours of her drive.

12: 23 a.m.: Augusta Street. Three males enter the bus. They prepare to leave for “somewhere on Lincoln Highway.”

“We’re gonna see some hot girls tonight!” one passenger exclaims.

Some speculation is made about where the three should be dropped off. They settle on a spot and depart.

12:40 a.m.: Lincoln Highway. Kristen Argo drops off the passengers while passing by the address.

“Have you been drinking tonight, ma’am?” one passenger jokes.

12:48 a.m.: Ridge Street. Pre-elementary major Kim Hopkins and undecided major Jessica O’Leary board the bus.

“They should have a V.I.P. thing for the bus where they would have less of a wait time,” O’Leary said. “Or maybe a special bus for V.I.P.s. We would be V.I.P.s!”

1:03 a.m.: Driving to the next destination, Kishwaukee Hospital, Argo mentions the qualifications of being a Late Night Ride Service driver in case of an emergency.

“We are all CPR certified and can call in an accident,” Argo said. “When there is a situation, we assess it and call the police.”

1:07 a.m.: Kishwaukee Hospital. Before any passengers enter, Argo mentions that she was a pizza delivery driver.

“I drive for the service because I made pizza deliveries in DeKalb. That gave me a special knowledge for the roads here.”

1:35 a.m.: Stevenson Towers. Three passengers leave, saying “thank you.”

Nearly all the students during the course of the drive thank Argo.

“It feels really good when people say they appreciate the ride. We like our job and feel like we’re making a difference,” she said.

2 a.m.: UP station. Argo exits the bus for her break. Thirty-five-year-old Sam Collins, badge No. 95, enters the driver seat. Collins is married and lives in DeKalb. He has worked for the university for about 10 years, NIU security for five years and the ride service “ever since it was taken over by the [police] department.”

2:02 a.m.: College Park. Collins enters a driveway as people leave a party nearby. Three sophomores, biology majors Jennifer Pitsch and Brandy Hudson and journalism major Nathan Lienau, enter the bus.

2:07 a.m.: Douglas Hall. The three passengers exit the bus. Collins also notes their “thank yous.”

“The appreciation means everything,” Collins said.

2:29 a.m.: Holmes Student Center. Electrical engineering major Krishnakanth Kuchhalakanti and computer science major Ravikiran Mattegunta wait outside the dim building and happily get into the van. These passengers are Late Night Ride Service virgins.

“I missed the bus and didn’t know what to do,” Kuchhalakanti said. “My friend told me about this service.”

2:52 a.m.: UP station. Collins exits the bus, and Argo enters the bus.

2:58 a.m.: Lincoln Hall. In a party of four, the two female passengers exit first. As the one male leaves, the second grabs his arm.

“Let [her] come to my place.”

“No man, they are both coming to my room!” the second male responds.

3:01 a.m.: Stevenson South. The single male from the party of four leaves for his room — alone.

3:03 a.m.: Turning onto Lincoln Highway near Douglas Hall. A car U-turns toward the bumblebee. Argo gasps and stops the car quickly. She saves the bumblebee from a possible accident.

3:53 a.m.: Stevenson South. After a long night, I bid the Late Night Ride Service farewell.