Temple University students can take free Uber rides to avoid unsafe situations this semester and get home safely, according toStudents will receive access to four free rides costing up to $20 through the end of 2023 as part of Temple’s partnership withThe $200,000 Uber has made available to the university is thanks to an agreement with Temple’s student organization, Student Activists Against Sexual Assault.
“By lowering the economic barrier to entry into using Uber to get home safe at night, we’re really hoping that we’re able to help our Temple students feel safe moving in and around their campus community,” Tracey Vitchers, executive director of It’s On Us, told the Temple News.Uber and It’s on Us launched a similar program last year at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. In addition to Temple, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan will partner with Uber this year.
“Our partnership with It’s on Us and Temple University will provide students in need with an option for a way to get to and from campus and will act as a model as we explore bringing this program to other campuses around the country,” said Julia Paige, Uber’s head of global social impact. The free rides can be used to travel within a 9½-mile radius of Temple’s main campus on North Broad Street. Students are required to log into the Uber app with their school emails and use the code “TempleRideHome” to redeem their free rides.
“It could really drastically decrease the amount of sexual violence happening on our campus, to have that option and not be worried about the financial vulnerabilities of it,” Ray Epstein, founder and president of Student Activists Against Sexual Assault, told the Temple News.