Dear Vanderbilt students,

We recently met with the Vanderbilt administration to discuss our primary shared goal: providing safe & affordable rides to the Vanderbilt community. You may have noticed the roll back of the campus cards feature with our new app, a misstep on our part in fulfilling that goal. While we work on fixing this quickly, we want to illustrate our commitment to providing Vanderbilt students with safe & comfortable rides.

We already do a lot to ensure your safety – from anonymized ratings to 24/7 support to a local team right here in Nashville focused on making your experience great – but Vanderbilt students have shown us their loyalty and we’re committed to showing you the same respect. That’s why we’re giving every affected student a complimentary, ongoing upgrade to Uber VIP in Nashville and 15% off trips to & from campus until we recover the Commodore Card feature .

Trips to/from this area will receive the 15% discount. Click to enlarge.

We hope this token of our apology and appreciation means you’ll give us another chance.

Sincerely,

Persis Elavia, General Manager, Uber Nashville

An Overview of Safety at Uber

One of Uber’s main goals is to make every trip safe and reliable, so you can relax from the moment you request a ride to the moment you’re dropped off at your dorm. Here’s how our technology keeps you safe:

SAFETY FEATURES FOR VANDERBILT STUDENTS

• Complimentary Uber VIP. Ride with the top rated drivers in Nashville to ensure you always have a comfortable experience.
• 15% off trips to & from campus. We’ve applied a 15% discount to any trips that start or end on campus so you can always go where you need to & know you’ll have a safe ride back.
• Working with administration. We’re meeting regularly with your administration and police force to ensure we’re always keeping the students’ best interests in mind.

BEFORE GETTING IN THE CAR

• No more street hails or waiting outside to find a ride. You can start the Uber app from anywhere and wait safely for your car to arrive. That means no standing on the street to hail a cab or struggling to find the nearest bus stop late at night.
• Trips are no longer anonymous. When a driver accepts your request, you see his or her first name, rating, photo, and license plate number. In addition, the driver can see your first name and rating. If there is any confusion around pick-up details, you can contact the driver—and vice versa—through the app without sharing your personal information.
• Set emergency contacts in-app. Add family & friends so you can easily share your trip status with them so someone always knows where you are.

DURING THE RIDE

• Never get lost. You can see the route on the map in the app. The location is clearly marked so you know where you are on your journey—and if you are on the right route.
• Share your ETA and location. You can easily share your ride details, including the specific route and estimated time of arrival, with friends or family for extra peace of mind. They’ll receive a link where they can see in real time the name and photo of the driver, the vehicle, and where you are on the map until you arrive at your destination—and they can do all of this without having to download the Uber app themselves.
• No need for cash. Since Uber allows for seamless cashless transactions, the conflicts that can come from arguments about fares or a lack of money to pay are significantly reduced.
• Safe driving reminders. Drivers see their driving speed in-app, get reminders to rest, and get stats on driving habits.

AFTER THE RIDE

• Anonymous feedback after every trip. After every ride, you and your driver are asked to rate each other and provide feedback. Our safety team reviews this information and investigates any issues.
• 24/7 Support. Our customer support team is ready to respond to any inquiries 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Incident Response. We have a dedicated Incident Response Team to answer any urgent issues. We also have a team of former law enforcement professionals who are on call to work with police to respond to urgent needs and walk them through how we can assist in an investigation.
• Local team on the ground in Nashville. We have a team on the ground that can further expedite and investigate issues and work to ensure qualify and safety with each ride.

BEHIND THE SCENES

• Contact without providing personal information. While riders and drivers are able to contact each other through the app, they won’t actually see each other’s real phone numbers. Uber uses technology that makes the phone numbers of riders and drivers anonymous so they do not have one another’s contact details going forward.
• Always on the map. Accountability is one of the things that makes riders feel safe. Both riders and drivers know that trips are tracked using GPS, which creates both accountability and a strong incentive for good behavior.
• Pre-screening drivers. All drivers must undergo a screening process before they can use the Uber app.