Duke Extends Program for Free Uber Rides

Following a successful start to a pilot program using the Uber ride-share program to bring students, faculty and staff to and from the Duke Lemur Center, the university will expand the program through the 2016-2017 school year.

Beginning now, not only will Duke cover the cost of Duke-related trips for the Lemur Center, but will also cover trips to and from the Duke Campus Farm, located at 4934 Friends School Road in western Durham. All trips will continue to be provided by Uber for faculty, staff and students who begin or end their trips from only West, Central and East campuses in Durham.

Eligible trips to/from the Lemur Center will run 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and until 8:30 p.m. Saturdays. Trips to the Campus Farm are eligible 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. The farm is closed to the public on Saturdays and Sunday visits are encouraged to only take place between 2 and 8 p.m. during community workdays.

“This can make a big difference for our volunteer work days,” said Emily McGinty, assistant program manager at the Campus Farm. “One of the most commonly asked questions we receive from faculty is ‘how do I get my students to the farm?’ and this is a great answer.”

Pick-up and drop-off for Uber rides only take place within specific boundaries of university properties to be eligible for a cost-covered trip. See the map below for boundary information of where pick-up and drop-offs can be made to the Campus Farm and Lemur Center.

McGinty noted that in the past, student groups like fraternities and sororities have an easier time arranging trips to the farm because of organized carpools, but the new program will make it possible for individual students who want to get involved.

“Now we can tap into a whole group of students who don’t know yet what we have to offer and what they can learn,” McGinty said.

Among those who have used the service has been Anne Yoder, director of the Duke Lemur Center. She said the program helped alleviate a decades-long challenge for bringing students to the Center due to its distance from West Campus. Public transportation doesn’t make stops at the center.

“I use Uber to travel from my lab on campus to the Lemur Center and back,” Yoder said. “I’ve never had to wait longer than five minutes for my ride and we couldn’t be happier with the program.”

In order to access an individualized promo code Duke community members must do the following:

• Download the Uber app from the Apple App Store, Google Play or Microsoft.
• Visit parking.duke.edu/uber and agree to an electronic waiver and release for the pilot program.
• Using a valid NetID to confirm agreement, students and employees will need to enter a provided code into the Uber app to earn a credit for the free trip to or from the Lemur Center or Campus Farm.
• Once the code is activated in the app by a Duke community member, it can be reused for additional trips to and from the Lemur Center or Campus Farm for the remainder of this year.

“Our ridership has been very happy with the program, which showed consistent use,” said Alison Carpenter, manager of Duke’s transportation demand management program. “It made sense to extend the offer to provide safe, free travel to some of Duke’s unique resources.”

Uber is a smartphone app that allows you to request a ride at the touch of a button. For the first few weeks of the academic year, all Uber users can apply code DUKEPERKS to get $10 off one ride. The app can be downloaded at this website.