'UT Night Rides' Program Extended For Three Years

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Lyft on Tuesday announced a three-year extension of its partnership with the UT Parking and Transportation UT Night Rides program, which provides free late-night Lyft rides to students and faculty.

The program, previously called SURE Ride, gives Longhorns a reliable and convenient way to get home from the main campus between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., seven nights a week. The program was piloted in the fall of 2017 and served more than 54,000 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

The inspiration for the program was born of tragedy in the wake of the April 2016 murder of freshman Haruka Weiser. The promising dance major was murdered by a transient youth as she made her way back to her dorm at night on a darkened path along the stretch of Waller Creek running through the campus.

Since that tragedy, many UT-Austin students have become more aware of the safety option. University officials have urged students to avail themselves of the free rides, as well as encouraging people to walk in groups when traversing the campus at night.

Lyft offered some stats related to the program’s pilot year:

• The average wait time from requesting a ride to pick up was 2.5 minutes.
• Students took the most rides mid-week, with the highest volume on Wednesdays, followed by Tuesdays, then Thursdays.
• The majority of rides were taken during the 11 PM to 12 AM hour. The 12 PM to 1 AM hour saw the second highest number of rides, followed by the 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.

“The partnership with Lyft has been instrumental in providing safe and reliable transportation options for The University of Texas at Austin campus community," Blanca Gamez, associate director, UT Parking and Transportation Services, said in a prepared statment. "Whether students are studying at the library, grabbing a late night snack, or leaving an event at the Erwin Center, they know Lyft has their late night ride covered. Providing hundreds of rides each night, UT Night Rides has been a program widely embraced by Longhorns.”

UT Student Body President Colton Becker added a student's perspective on the initiative: "Between classes, tests, and projects, UT students have enough to stress over. Worrying about how to get home safely from campus shouldn't be one of them. Thankfully, through the UT Night Rides program, students can take advantage of free Lyft rides from campus after 11 p.m., 7 days a week.”

Aaron Fox, General Manager for Lyft in Austin, said he was gratified to see the partnership extended: “It is a tremendous opportunity to extend this partnership with UT Austin Parking & Transportation. We are proud to serve as an important transportation solution for Longhorns who need access to reliable and accessible rides home from campus late at night.”

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>>> Top image courtesy of Lyft