Students booking rides with RideSmart by Via will no longer be able to add more than one additional passenger to their trip, removing a loophole that would often give riders free Lyfts when they added multiple additional passengers to their booking. The University-partnered rideshare service, which offers an unlimited number of rides from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m., usually involves shared vans but promises a free Lyft if there are no vans arriving within 15 minutes.
In an email sent on Thursday, Associate Vice President for Safety and Security Eric M. Heath and Interim Dean of Students in the University Mike Hayes said they were disappointed that students were exploiting the loophole.
“Unfortunately, we have learned that a significant number of riders are requesting rides and adding multiple guests in order to get Lyft rides, or cancelling booking requests in quick succession until they get the Lyft option when wait times are low,” the email read. “These Lyft rides are intended only as a backup option to limit wait times. The misuse of the Lyft option incurs unnecessary costs, and if left unchecked will prevent the Via program from being sustainable.”
Via will now only allow students to book a ride for themselves and one additional guest. Previously, students could add up to three additional guests to their ride. According to the email, no other changes to the service were made.
The email also indicated that the University would continue monitoring the service for “misuse,” which it said “could lead to the suspension of individual student accounts, and further changes to the program.”
