The Department of Public Safety is looking to improve late-night escort services by updating the program and adding additional vehicles.

DPS has been ‘inundated’ with calls for the escort service, and the vehicle escort was added as it can help more people in a shorter amount of time, DPS Capt. John Sardino said.

‘The services that we were providing that seemed to be sufficient no longer were sufficient, and we couldn’t keep up,’ Sardino said.

Requests for walking safety escorts have increased by 40 percent since last year, Sardino said. Last year, approximately 23,000 students requested a safety escort. Numbers were not available for the total escorts provided so far this semester.

The busiest nights are Thursday through Saturday, when students have more social events, Sardino said. The DPS Communications Center receives upwards of 200 calls each weekend, he said. 

DPS began working with the Office of Parking and Transit Services in the fall to better serve students’ needs and advise students of the bus schedule. In January, DPS added two vehicles to its escort services, Sardino said. DPS provides late-night shuttles to both on-campus and off-campus residences. 

Sardino said he was not surprised by the increased interest because of the advertising DPS has done to promote the services. Caz Limo and Tours’ late-night bus service has also been a ‘tremendous’ help dealing with student transportation, Sardino said. At the end of the semester, DPS plans to review the escort services and see what else can be improved, Sardino said. 

Although the vehicle service has been added, walking escorts are still DPS’ go-to option if the officers on the beat are available, he said. There are two officers on each walking and driving escort jobs, Sardino said. Walking escorts serve shifts from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and vehicle escorts run from 8 p.m. to 3 or 4 a.m. — sometimes to 6 a.m. on busy weekend nights.

Student reaction to the various late-night transportation options is mixed.

Latisha Lindo, a senior public relations major, has never used the service. She said she knows how long waiting for an escort could take and prefers to arrange for a ride. 

She said she thought the program was more helpful for underclassmen who might not have a group of friends to walk with or rely on for rides.

But Shieldy Jean-Louis, a junior biology major, takes advantage of DPS’ added transport services to go from South Campus to her residence hall at Sadler Hall late at night. She said service has always been ‘excellent’ and dependable.

Sardino, who has driven an escort vehicle a couple of times, said the service seems to be something students want and appreciate.

‘Even with the delays, I have to say most students are really appreciative of the service,’ Sardino said.

Typically, students must wait between 10 to 15 minutes, Sardino said. But sometimes it can take 30 minutes or longer. Delays happen when the service becomes backlogged or officers are called away to deal with incidents that take priority, Sardino said.

‘A few times, students have had to wait 40 minutes,’ he said.

Last semester, Anna Kuskin, a freshman in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries, would call DPS after working a midnight to 2 a.m. Wednesday shift at the student radio station in Watson Hall. When she was ready to go back to her residence hall on Mount Olympus, she would call DPS.

‘I’ve called them, and they’ve told me it can take between five and 45 minutes,’ Kuskin said.

But not every experience of Kuskin’s has been a bad experience. In January, Kuskin was walking across the Quad late one night when a DPS officer saw her walking alone and offered her a ride.

Kuskin said: ‘And I was so thrilled.’

dkmcbrid@syr.edu