On Feb. 8, ASUO senate agreed to a $25,000 surplus request to bring students a new ride-share program through Lyft to help University of Oregon students get home safely after midnight.

The ride-share program, through Lyft, will begin spring term. Students will be able to sign up for an account with their UO email and receive four $7 coupons every month, ASUO General Policy Secretary John Freudenthal said.

He said the program will provide an alternative mode of transportation for students to avoid walking home at night. The program’s hours of operation will be between 12 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.

The program is intended for students who walk home late from work, school, classes or other extracurricular activities, so students will only be able to use it to and from the Eugene-Springfield area, said Freudenthal.

Duck Rides, a free transportation service for UO students, only operates between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m.

“We quickly realized that Duck Rides wasn’t really in a position to be expanded at all,” Freudenthal said. “They’re currently suffering from record low employment numbers, which restricts the amount of people they can pick up. They often have to turn students away.”

Freudenthal said Lyft already has rideshare programs with other universities, so it was chosen as the preferred rideshare service for UO.

This program really already exists at the UO Portland campus, Freudenthal said.

Freudenthal said that nearly 75% of students felt unsafe walking at night, and the same amount of respondents also felt that rideshare programs were a financial burden to them which prevented them from getting home safely. 

Freudenthal and Contract Finance Committee Chair Jenna Travers said they were concerned that Lyft’s zero tolerance drug and alcohol policy would mean intoxicated students would be turned away, but Lyft said the policy just applies to drivers.

“They assured us they know kind of what college kids are doing at this time of night,” Freudenthal said.

After a pilot period to test how much the program will cost the university and how many students benefit from the program, Freudenthal said a longer-term contract will be written.

Travers said students will get an email from the UO transportation services outlining more of the details on how to sign up.

She also recommended combining coupons among friends. This will enable students to use rides more effectively.