Students studying into the wee hours of the night can worry less about how to get home thanks to a new van the Student Escort Service added specifically to serve Clemons Library.
The Student Escort Service's third van, which began service Wednesday, runs from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m, Sundays through Thursdays, the days Clemons stays open for 24 hours.
The van will not run on holidays.
The University Bookstore provided $30,000 in surplus funds to add the Clemons van.
"One problem that was noticed over the last couple of years was that people who wanted to go [home] from Clemons had to wait," said Marissa Cato, Student Council's vice president for administration.
University Police officials said the Clemons van is only a trial program.
"We will be watching closely the number of people using the van," University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding said.
Council and University Police plan to count the number of people using the service to determine whether the Clemons van is worthwhile.
Fielding said the Clemons van could decrease the number of people using the other two vans, and that the overall effectiveness of the service will be re-evaluated at the end of the year.
"Its permanence depends on how many people use it," Cato said.
Besides adding a van, Student Escort Services also changed operational hours for the other two vehicles.
These vans begin service at 8 p.m., two hours later than last year.
One van will halt service at 3 a.m., while the other will continue until 7 a.m.
"The change in the hours on the front side was based on the need to provide security services," University Police Capt. Mike Coleman said.
University Police who drive the vehicles often have other duties to perform between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., such as locking up buildings.
Fielding also said the change occurred because the early evening hours were when the Escort Service was least used.
Cato said she believes UTS buses running between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. led to fewer students using the Escort Service during these hours.
"The hours where it probably wasn't used the most, that is when it has been scaled back," Fielding said.
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