It has been over two months since the launch of the Via program on campus. After three years of providing a limited number of subsidized Lyft rides to students each month, the University has partnered with rideshare company Via to have greater oversight over its rideshare services while reducing the number of vehicles in the Hyde Park area.
Via is a rideshare service that picks up and drops off students at designated points along a shared route, providing unlimited free rides to and from any location near campus between 5 p.m. and 4 a.m. through the RideSmart app. Reviews of Via are mixed, with student feedback ranging from praises of the app’s convenience to complaints about wait times and the cleanliness of fellow riders.
The rideshare app has been convenient for many first-year students, like JC Bermudez. “I think [Via] has been super positive,” Bermudez said. “I use it a lot, especially when I’m going out or just trying to go to the library or coming back after practice.”
However, upperclassmen appear less enthusiastic, with many avoiding Via because of wait times.
Second-year Ishani Hariprasad expressed her preference for last year’s Lyft program. “I have not really used [Via] at all,” she said. “From what I’ve been told by all of my friends, it just takes a very long time.”
“[The app will tell you] the Via is here in 15 minutes, but, because the drop-off and pick-up times take so long, it’ll be more on the half-hour side,” third-year Alexander Valbuena said.
For Valbuena, sharing the vehicle with other students was another issue. “My first Via left a really bad impression because these two guys hopped in, [and] they were just really stinky,” he said.
Despite complaints about Via’s tardiness, the frequently extended wait times have led to one unexpected benefit: free Lyfts. Due to a limited number of Via drivers and high demand for the rideshare service, the app automatically orders riders a free Lyft when it estimates a wait time of over 15 minutes. For many students, this has become the preferred outcome. When asked about his favorite part of the service, fourth-year Joshua Lee said, “The free Lyfts.”
“I’ll use the Via app almost three times every day, but I never actually use the Vias. I almost always use the Lyfts,” Valbuena said.
Students have even developed strategies to increase their chances of receiving a Lyft through the Via app. “There are different tricks you can use in order to get Via to give you Lyfts…like adding additional passengers,” third-year Neel Maheshwari said.
For some, the Via program’s flexibility and unlimited ride features are seen as overall improvements to previous years’ rideshare offerings. “[The rides are] unlimited…I think probably the Via system is better on net,” Valbuena said.
Lee echoed the positive reviews, adding, “It’s great. I wouldn’t change a thing [about Via].”
