Lyft for Departments
Department Transportation Options with Lyft
Lyft is the preferred rideshare partner for The University of Texas at Austin. Schools and departments can now set up rideshare programs to solve their transportation needs, at the department’s expense. Examples of scenarios where a department could utilize Lyft for university travel are:
- Event guest transportation
- Business travel direct billing or auto-expensing
- Campus visitor transportation
- Student group travel off campus (volunteering or field trips)
- Research and clinical trial programs - patient and participant travel
- Student travel on and off campus (Greek Life, internship transport, airport travel)
- Employee, staff or faculty commute
Lyft Business Products
The University has contracted with Lyft to offer the following Lyft Business products, all designed to best serve your university-related transportation needs. Programs are intended to be used for university affiliate transportation in and around campus or for official university-related travel transportation needs, at the department’s expense.
- Lyft Pass: An automated way to move your people (learn more)
- Subsidize the cost of rides for eligible riders with a custom Lyft Pass program, controlling usage and budget
- Add date, time, location, and ride type restrictions
- Share your Pass with riders via email or Lyft promo code - easy to share with campus affiliates or visitors
- Potential use cases: Intra-campus transport, GME fatigue mitigation, student airport rides, volunteer transport, campus visitor transportation
- Concierge: Web-based portal for booking trips on a rider’s behalf (learn more)
- A ride dispatch website compatible with any internet-enabled device
- Designate department ride coordinators to dispatch and monitor rides up to 30 days in advance, or in real-time
- Enter rider pick up and drop off addresses, then ride details are shared with rider via text message - riders do not need to have the Lyft mobile app
- Potential use cases: Emergency ride home dispatch, rides to/from campus health centers, research program and patient travel, rides for VIP campus visitors
- Business Profiles: Allows faculty and staff to directly bill rides to a corporate account (learn more)
- Hassle-free expensing (integrates with Concur and other platforms)
- A simple way for faculty and staff to separate business-related rides from personal Lyft rides
- Restrict the vehicle types riders can expense
- Potential use cases: Nationwide conference travel, intra-campus commuting, Athletics recruiting
To get started, please reach out to the Lyft University Partnerships team at edu-ride-programs@lyft.com
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sign up for an account or get more information?
For additional information or to set up a Lyft program, please reach out to the Lyft team at edu-ride-programs@lyft.com
How are these rides billed?
Rides are billed by Lyft via monthly invoice, and you can pay via ACH, check, or card. Your department is responsible for covering the cost of your Lyft programs. You are only billed for the cost of rides that take place. Please refer to internal university policy regarding payment preferences and PO requirements.
How much does it cost to create a Lyft program?
It is free to set up a program, and you are only billed for the actual cost of rides - if no rides take place then you are not charged. There are no minimum fees or upfront payments. You can view the Lyft rate card for your city at this website.
Do we get discounts on Lyft or free rides?
No, you will not receive free rides or discounted rates when you create a Lyft program. You can view the Lyft rate card for your city at this website.
How can I get help with my program? Payment issues, lost and found, refund requests.
Utilize the “Get Help” or “Chat Support” button in the Lyft Business Portal or submit a ticket at this link. If you do not receive a response within 1 business day, reach out to the University Partnerships team at edu-ride-programs@lyft.com.
Rider Safety Tips
- Verify your ride by making sure the license plate number, driver information, and car make and model match what you see in the app.
- Share your location and route with a friend or loved one from within the Lyft app so they can follow your ride in real-time.
- Follow the Lyft vehicle on GPS via the app.
- Ask the driver to say who they are picking up.
- Learn more about Lyft's rider safety features.
How to Get Started
For additional information or to set up a Lyft program, please reach out to the Lyft University Partnerships team at edu-ride-programs@lyft.com
