Living in Los Angeles poses the same safety issues of any large, metropolitan area.  As such, different departments on campus have teamed up to provide services to ensure the safety of the student population.  These services range from escort and shuttle services to educational and crime prevention programs.  Take full advantage of these programs—they’re free to all students. 

Campus Cruiser
Campus Cruiser is a one-of-a-kind safe ride home program. This daily service is free to all USC Faculty, Staff, Students, and Guests of the university.  Service is restricted, however, to specific routes outside of the university.  Students can request a Cruiser by calling (213)740-4911. In addition, Campus Cruiser also offers a Leavey Library Shuttle that operates in addition to the regular Cruisers.
Click on the following links to learn more about Campus Cruiser, including hours of operation and a map of cruiser boundaries.

Crime Prevention and Community Education Unit
The Crime Prevention and Community Education Unit holds self defense classes, pepper spray classes, various types of self defense devices and weapons, property protection, and other crime prevention techniques. Contact them with any questions you have at (213)743-1730.

Department of Public Safety (DPS)
The Department of Public Safety is one of the largest university law enforcement agencies in the United States, employing more than 200 full-time staff and over 35 student workers.

The department employees are committed to preserving the safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the University of Southern California, and they do so through a variety of enforcement, prevention, and educational programs. DPS renders a wide range of public safety and law enforcement services in the areas of preventive patrols, crime prevention, parking enforcement, and criminal investigations.

It is the policy of DPS to interface and professionally cooperate with its counterparts within the Los Angeles Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms, and other local law enforcement agencies.  They do so by disseminating information on reported crimes, trends in criminal activity and intelligence on potential criminal behavior in the University community. Their priority has been, and will continue to be, a proactive focus on crime prevention and risk reduction.

Please contact DPS at (213)740-4321 for emergencies or (213)740-6000 for non-emergencies. Visit their website at http://capsnet.usc.edu/dps/index.cfm

Emergency or Blue Light Phones
Blue light emergency phones are located throughout the University Park and Health Sciences campuses. The phones are connected to Public Safety’s 24-hour communications center and identify the phone location if the caller is unable to talk. The phones can be used to request an escort, report suspicious activity, and to report crimes.

Escort Service
The Department of Public Safety provides an escort service upon request. Though Campus Cruiser is the official safe ride home program for the University, DPS supplements their service when they are not operating, or when special circumstances would make it better for an officer to transport. Service is restricted to the DPS response area.

To arrange for a DPS escort, please call (213)740-6000.

Partnership with Yellow Cab
Students are now encouraged to utilize the partnership with the Yellow Cab Company. You can pay by USC Discretionary Card with three cab locations on the USC campus: Gate 3, Gate 5 and the Radisson.

Tram Services
The University of Southern California and Transportation Services are committed to exceptional customer service, providing safe and reliable transportation. USC Tram Services is a bus system that connects the USC Main campus to off-campus apartments and the Parking Center.  As with any bus system, there are set routes and schedules.  For more information about USC Tram Services, visit the Tram Services website at http://transnet.usc.edu/transit/transit.aspx.