Washington University modified regulations regarding their partnership with Uber, which was announced Sept. 24 in response to a spike in crime near campus.

Originally, the University allowed unlimited rides to campus during the week and restricted students to two trips per day on the weekend. Soon after the initiative began, the application limited students to two trips per day for weekdays as well.

The program also initially capped each ride reimbursement at $100. Recently, the University lowered this maximum amount to $20.

“[Uber] said to set [the maximum ride fare] at 10 bucks because the average fare is less than that,” Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Dedric Carter said. “We decided to double that to make sure that we are covering our students who are getting from point A to point B, and in that range, you shouldn’t go over—it’s actually really hard to do that.”

The $20 allocated to each ride does not include tips, since the University cannot control how much students tip.

“We do encourage people to tip great drivers, but within Wash. U.’s ability to cover it, we’ve been focused on the fare from the beginning,” Carter said.

Students have, overall, expressed their satisfaction with the program.

“I use it every day [to go] to and from campus,” senior Jacob Cantrell said. “I feel safer being dropped off right in front of my building late at night. The Uber driver usually waits until I open the door to leave, rather than having to find parking on the street and walk to my house alone.”

“It was inconvenient having to walk home or pay for Ubers home from campus after nights out when all my friends live in the Village,” junior Chad Schwam said. “Not having to worry about that money coming out of my pocket just because it was unsafe to walk home is really nice.”

Washington University Police Chief Mark Glenn approves of the initiative as well.

“We are supportive of any transportation options that offer students safe transit to and from campus,” Glenn said. “It’s not just Uber, but shuttles and other options that we think our community needs. It’s that overall safety and security aspect that we’re glad the University provides to the students.”

Some students have not used the service for its intended use, sharing their sign-up links through social media to students who are not eligible for the program, taking Ubers to places off campus that are not in the originally designated areas and using it when they have on-campus housing.

“Are there people who have tried to find ways to game the system? There’s always that, that’s whenever you get loads of people together,” Carter said. “But the wider share of folks who have been involved in this program have used it for the intent of the program. The concern is making sure people don’t make it their primary means of transportation.”

The partnership with Uber is set to expire in December.

“We’re taking this time to take a look at what’s working…We’ve done a lot in the last couple of months, several weeks in particular, to focus on increasing patrols and increasing the number of shuttles and thinking about ways to get the footbridge open earlier and well lit,” Carter said. “All of these are part of a big plan that the University has in place to say, ‘Let’s keep our community safe as usual.’”