“I and all my friends feel much safer traveling at night, even on and around campus, when the Lyfts are available.”
“As an Odyssey scholar, my ability to get home safely after studying from the Reg in the dead of winter has drastically improved because of Lyft passes.”
“Lyft makes up for what the University shuttles are horrible at. Until those are improved, keep my Lyfts!”
About the campaign
The Lyft Ride Smart program provides the UChicago College community with free or discounted transportation with Lyft within the Hyde Park neighborhood and to/from the Garfield Red/Green Line CTA stations. The program is highly utilized and even University administration admitted it’s high demand.
Unfortunately, on September 20th, Michele Rasmussen, dean of students at the University, and Eric M. Heath, associate vice president of safety and security, emailed students announcing a reduction in the total amount of allowed rides and the maximum covered amount per ride. Rides, which were previously 10 rides at a $15 maximum benefit, were announced to now be 7 rides at a $10 maximum benefit. It doesn’t stop there, the administration has even floated the idea of cutting the Lyft program entirely, according to the Chicago Maroon.
The Protect Our Lyfts campaign is a lobbying strategy and movement started by USG to harness the power of grassroots organizing to pressure the University administration to halt further cuts to the program, restore the program, and in the end: protect our Lyfts! This campaign is authorized by College Council through a resolution sponsored by C.C. Rep. Dariel Cruz Rodriguez, Class of 2026.
Why are Lyfts important?
The Lyft Ride Smart Program has been a valuable resource for Chicago-based students at the University, promoting safe and affordable transportation options. Affordable and dependable transportation choices are crucial for students, especially those from low-income backgrounds. The University shuttle system is inadequate right now: slow headways, confusing routes, and lack of connectivity plague the system. Until this is resolved, the Lyft Ride Smart program makes up for the operational challenges the shuttles see.
What we are doing about it
We are in the process of passing a resolution, making our stance official that we are in support of keeping the Lyft Ride Smart program. Until then, our cabinet and College Council have continually met with stakeholders in the University administration to express our concerns. We are making this page so that we can keep the student body updated on our advocacy progress.
Updates
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This is a placeholder, updates will be posted soon.
“The Lyft program is vital in an area severely underserved by public transit not frequent enough or safe at night.”
“Because of the time limits applied to the Lyft passes, most people I know are using them to get to and from parties or other places at night.”
“The people who can afford it will rideshare everywhere. The students most impacted by these cuts are FGLI students.”