Rideshare Programs
Learn about ridesharing services and benefits available to the campus community.
UC San Diego has partnered with Uber to offer various rideshare programs, all designed to meet your university-related travel needs. Choose the option that best fits your use case—Uber Central for general guest travel, Uber Health for HIPAA covered patient or clinical trial transport, Uber Vouchers for guest-facing events and Uber for Business for employee business travel. Below you’ll find quick highlights, stepbystep instructions for obtaining access, and management guidance for each program.
Note: Uber Central, Uber Health and Uber Vouchers should not be used for employee business travel.
Update
This partnership with Uber replaces the previous campus relationship with Lyft. Campus departments previously set up with Lyft Concierge, Lyft Pass or Lyft Events will be transitioned to Uber starting February 2026. IPPS will reach out to your group to initiate the transition. Campus departments that were not previously set up with Lyft should follow the instructions below to request access Uber access.Please note: Departments should review any webpages, printed materials, or communications that reference Lyft and update them to reflect the transition to Uber.
Uber Central and Uber Health
With the Uber Central and Uber Health platforms, departments can request rides on behalf of others from one central dashboard. It is a convenient way to support business transportation needs, with no app or smartphone required. Rides can be requested on demand or scheduled up to 30 days in advance. Uber provides access to real-time ride tracking, reduced cost for transportation programs and live customer support.
For those coordinating patient and human subject transportation, Uber offers a key advantage: the Uber Health dashboard is HIPAA compliant, ensuring secure handling of protected health information and aligning with our compliance standards.
Program Highlights
- UC San Diego's Uber Account Manager can help your department determine whether Uber Central or Uber Health is a better fit your department’s business needs.
- One-Dashboard Management: Coordinators can request, edit and track rides for multiple people in real-time from a single, centralized view. Administrators can pull travel data reports, have full visibility into spend with monthly statements, quickly and easily reconcile charges in Concur.
- Scheduling and Flexibility: Ability to book rides instantly, schedule them up to 30 days in advance, or let your rider choose the exact time of their ride.
- Vehicle & Language Options: Uber Central and Uber Health allow coordinators to select vehicle size and class as well as specify language preference for riders to accommodate individual rider needs.
- No App Required for Riders: Riders will receive trip details via text (or voice call if needed), including pickup location, driver name, and vehicle details. No app download required.
Requesting Access to Uber Central or Uber Health Dashboard
- Do you intend to use this program to transport patients or clinical trial participants?
- If yes: Request Uber Health (HIPAA compliant) dashboard
- If no: Request Uber Central (non-HIPAA compliant) dashboard
3. Send your request to the Procurement Card team through the UC San Diego Services and Support portal with the Subject " Uber Central" OR “Uber Health” and include the following information in your ticket:
- Cardholder name and last 4 digits of P-Card
- What would you like to name the program? We suggest something recognizable, such as "Department - Business Unit"
- Do you have an estimated budget for this program?
- Who will need access as an administrator (full access, can send rides and run reports) or coordinator (send rides only)? There is no limit to how many users can access your program. Once your program is live, administrators can add/remove users as needed. Please provide full name, email and level of access needed.
- Do you intend to use this program to transport patients?
- Do you intend to use this program to transport clinical trial participants? If so, did you receive IRB approval for such use? And is this service included in your informed consent documentation?
- A detailed business purpose (ex. Business operations require recurring transportation for faculty recruitment)
Setting Up and Managing Uber Dashboards
- The main Administrator will receive a link from Uber to sign in and complete initial setup of the dashboard (including entering Procurement Card for payment)
- Once an Uber program is active, the cardholder and any additional program administrators are responsible for managing user access to the platform and monitoring rideshare purchases.
- Administrators will pull reports which serve as backup documentation to upload in Concur as part of the monthly reconciliation process.
Uber Vouchers
With Uber Vouchers, departments can ensure University guests have a convenient ride to and from local University-sponsored events. How Uber Vouchers work: Create an event by adding your event details, setting your budget and distributing a voucher link or by sharing unique code for your guests. On the day of the event guests will redeem their voucher for a department-funded Uber ride.
Program Highlights
- Departments can quickly and easily reconcile the charges in Concur.
- Increase meeting attendance by helping guests focus on content instead of coordinating transportation and parking.
- Vouchers are only redeemable during the dates and times you specify during setup. Additionally, guests can only use your Voucher to get to and/or from location(s) specified.
- Set the number of attendees and choose to cover the full amount of a ride or up to a certain dollar amount (depending on preference and budget).
Requesting Access to Uber Voucher Dashboard
2. Send your request to the Procurement Card team through the UC San Diego Services and Support portal with the Subject " Uber Vouchers" and include the following information in your ticket:
- Cardholder name and last 4 digits of P-Card
- Date(s) of events
- Will this be a one-time or recurring event? If recurring, how often?
- Event budget for Uber Vouchers
- Is additional administrator access needed? If so, provide full name and email for each requested admin.
- Do you intend to use these vouchers to transport patients?
- Do you intend to use these vouchers to clinical trial participants? If so, did you receive IRB approval for such use? And is this service included in your informed consent documentation?
- Business reason (ex. Need to provide seminar guests rides to and from dinner reception)
3. The case will be reviewed and approved by the Travel and Procurement Card teams who will grant access to the Uber Voucher dashboard and add a temporary lift of the rideshare commodity restriction on your Procurement Card.
Managing Uber Vouchers
Creating Uber Vouchers
- Create a Voucher by adding your event name, dates, times and approved locations for use.
- Determine number of guests/riders and the value of Vouchers.
Ex. Departments can choose to cover the full amount of a ride or up to a certain dollar amount (depending on preference and budget).
Distributing Vouchers to Guests
- Provide the custom code or link to your guests in advance with easy “How To” instructions customized for your event.
- Guests will need to download the Uber App on their smartphones to redeem Vouchers.
Payment & Reconciliation
- On the day of the event guests will redeem their voucher for a department-funded Uber ride. The Procurement Card linked to the Voucher program will be charged once at the end of each day, for any vouchers redeemed on that day.
- Department administrators will reconcile charges by uploading receipts and business descriptions into Concur.
Riding smart with Uber
- Check your ride–Before getting into the car, remember to always match the license plate number and car make and model with what’s shown in the app, and make sure your driver matches their in-app photo.
- Verify your ride–You can turn this feature on to receive a unique PIN for every ride, then share that PIN with your driver to help make sure that you’re in the right vehicle.
- Share your trip–Use the Share My Trip feature to share your location, ETA, and driver information with a friend or family member so they can see your trip status in real time.
- For more information on safety, review these tips.