The school year is back in session, and so are the all-nighters at the library, football games, late-night hangouts with friends, and transportation needs to and from all these events.
At many universities across the U.S., students have access to Lyft’s Ride Smart program, a service that provides college communities with free or discounted transportation with Lyft. While program details vary from school to school, Lyft’s Ride Smart offers college students reliable travel inside a university-designated service area.
In addition to providing a reliable and affordable transportation option on campus, Lyft’s Ride Smart program serves as an important service that students can use to avoid drinking and driving, get friends or themselves out of uncomfortable situations, or simply avoid walking home alone. We’ve developed the following safety tips to help students, faculty and staff know the best and most effective ways to ride smart with Lyft:
Check your ride: Before stepping foot in the car, riders can make sure it’s the right one by matching the license plate shown in the Lyft app with the one on the arriving vehicle. In the app, riders can also see a photo of the driver, and the make, model and color of the car. To double check if the ride is correct, riders should ask the driver who they are picking up, and wait for them to say the ride requester’s name before getting in the car.
Share your location: For further peace of mind, riders can share your location and route in real time with friends or loved ones using our Share Location feature, so they can follow the ride in real time. Riders can share their location for every ride, for individual rides, or only during certain hours (like late night rides).
Call a ride for a friend: To get friends out of an awkward situation, order a ride for them. When calling the ride, make sure to share the ride information with the rider through the Share Location feature, so they’re aware of the license plate number, make and model of the car, and the driver’s name. Give the driver a heads up that the ride is for a friend so they’re fully prepared for pick-up.
In-app safety features: If riders are ever in an uncomfortable situation, the Lyft app has in-ride safety features at one’s fingertips. Riders can use Lyft’s Emergency Help product to receive emergency assistance or simply reassurance from an ADT security professional without having to speak a word. Through our Smart Trip Check-in feature, we monitor rides for certain ride irregularities, and can reach out to riders directly to offer support.
We also partner with It’s On Us, the nation’s largest nonprofit program dedicated to college sexual assault prevention, to amplify safety education around ridesharing and ensure riders have the information they need to get into the right car.
Interested in bringing a Ride Smart program to your school? Learn more here.