ASU’s Tempe campus Safety Escort Service is expecting to triple its vehicles in the next month and become able to transport more than 20 people at a time.

David Curtiss, a computer science senior and director of the Safety Escort Service, said the program will expand as soon as the car dealership is ready.

“We’re getting two new vans that each seat eight people,” Curtiss said.

The 33-person student-run operation currently has only one van and has relied on golf carts to transport students in the past.

“We’re trying to phase the golf carts out,” Curtiss said. “They’re not as safe, slower on the roads, can’t hold as many people, and they’re not as fast.”

ASU police has given Safety Escort Service the privilege to drive the vans on campus malls and driveways so they will be as accessible as the carts.

Curtiss said employees are required to take two classes before driving the vans: defensive driving for large vehicles and driving on the mall, a class about safe driving on ASU’s campus.

“We opened a new office in Sonora [Center, a south-campus residence hall], but without the extra vehicles we can’t really place employees down there,” Curtiss said.

Safety Escort Service currently operates out of an office in Palo Verde West.

“We’re working on a third location at the Hayden dorm,” Curtiss said, “but we’re trying to work as efficiently as we can out of one office for now.”

Funding for the new vans was allocated to Safety Escort Service last semester by the Tempe campus Undergraduate Student Government as part of the Student Initiatives Fee that was introduced last semester.

The $25-per-student fee also increased funding so the service could open offices on each end of the Tempe campus.

The service has been waiting for the new vehicles for more than a month, but the Chrysler dealership, where the Dodge Grand Caravans will come from, shut down for 30 days because of the economy.

“I’m optimistic that we’ll have them before the end of March,” Curtiss said. “We’re servicing as fast as we can, but we only have one van out there.”

The new vehicles are expected to bring more consistency, availability, flexibility and speed.

Safety Escort Service currently operates from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week and has become busier this semester, Curtiss said.

“The new vans will allow us to get to students quicker,” he said.

Francine Nguyen, a psychology sophomore, said she used the service regularly when she parked her car in Lot 59 last semester.

“I think they’re very consistent,” Nguyen said, adding that she never waits more than 15 minutes for her ride to arrive.

“They always tell you exactly how long it will be and usually come on time,” she said.

Curtiss said all employees have been working as efficiently as possible to make sure students don’t spend too long waiting.

Along with new vans, Curtiss said the service will be seeking as many as seven new employees to operate the vehicles.

“We currently have exactly enough people to fully manage one van, so we’ll ultimately need to get the number to around 40 to control three,” Curtiss said.

Reach the reporter at tessa.muggeridge@asu.edu.