Temple students claimed $200,000 worth of free Uber rides in a month. Now, the university is getting $150,000 more.

Uber is giving Temple University an additional $150,000 in free rides as part of a partnership kicked off last month that aims to get students home safely.

The initiative stems from a collaboration between the ride-sharing app and It’s On Us, a nonprofit organization working to prevent sexual assault on campuses, as well as Student Activists Against Sexual Assault, which is a local student chapter of the nonprofit.

In September, Uber gave Temple $200,000 worth of free rides through the initiative, and about a month later, all of the ride vouchers have been claimed, and more than $100,000 has already been used in rides, according to Freddi Goldstein, communications manager for Uber.

“We are just so thrilled about how successful the partnership at Temple has gone. It has just blown up in the best way possible,” said Tracey Vitchers, executive director of It’s On Us.

The rides are intended to enable students to get out of unsafe situations, with no need to prove why they’re being used. Students can claim $20 vouchers that can be used for rides within a 9½-mile radius of Temple’s main campus. The additional vouchers will be available starting on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and must be redeemed before the end of 2023.

Students who have used the voucher say they have had positive experiences.

Nicholas Bader, a junior math major at Temple, got off work around 9:30 p.m. in Center City last month and headed to the Broad Street line to get home when he saw police blocking the entrance to the subway at Dilworth Park. He was unsure what the situation was, but the police were advising some passengers to not take the train at that time. Bader said he could have tried to call a few friends for a ride, but only a few of them have cars and he didn’t want to walk home alone, he said. Then, he remembered the voucher program and called an Uber to get him home.

“It made me feel very grateful. It made me feel a very profound sense of community,” said Bader. “Students who I have never met, thought about a situation like that before I did and got me home safe.”

Ray Epstein, the president of Student Activists Against Sexual Assault, has also used a voucher. She recently found herself alone at a Center City bar late at night, and realized she didn’t know the people she was with, she said. Feeling unsafe, she called an Uber to get her home.

“I can think of so many colleges where a good portion of the student body wouldn’t have to think twice about the financial aspect of ordering an Uber, but that’s not us, and that’s not a reflection of our student body,” said Epstein.

The partnership has also made more students aware of the club’s work, said Epstein. Typically, the club’s biweekly Wednesday meetings had about 10 to 15 people, she estimated. Following the Uber partnership announcement, 50 students showed up to the meeting, many eager to learn more about the club’s work and how to get involved for the first time.

“It was just unreal. They wanted to be part of what we do so badly, and it was just really profoundly moving,” said Epstein.

The ride-share partnership has also validated and uplifted the work of the club, said Epstein, which she said will have a ripple effect on campus for years to come. The student-led organization was recently invited to join a new campus safety student advisory board, and it is also working on training with the Temple University Police Department.

“I definitely feel like we’re in a position to effect a lot more change and we feel a little bit more ambitious,” said Epstein. “I really do feel like our power dynamic with the university has changed.”

Last week, the organization was honored with a City Council resolution introduced by Councilmember Isaiah Thomas.

“The advocacy they do requires nuance and class, and they deliver,“ said Thomas in a statement about the student-led organization. “I am glad that Uber is continuing this crucial investment in promoting the safety of Temple’s campus community. It is amazing to see advocates who care get the support they deserve.”