The Santa Monica College (SMC) Foundation – a non-profit which supports educational endeavors of SMC faculty and students – has collaborated with Uber to alleviate traffic and parking around the SMCF main campus at 1900 Pico Boulevard, by promoting uberPOOL as a shared ride alternative, the company announced yesterday.
uberPOOL is aimed at helping people going in the same direction at the same time share the journey and split the cost.
"It’s easy on the wallet and the environment, and starting today, it will help more students and faculty get to campus – together – thanks to a first-of-its kind collaboration between Uber and Santa Monica College Foundation (SMCF)," Uber said.
“For years carpooling has been promoted to students and employees with modest success at best. Then along comes Uber with uberPOOL and overnight people are sharing their ride in droves. Uber figured out, through technology, how to use real-time data of people on the move in LA to hook riders up that are heading in the same direction and save them some money,” said Ferris Kawar, Project Manager for Sustainability, SMC Foundation.
So how does it work? Simply put, Uber and SMC Foundation are teaming up to get more people to share the ride. SMC Foundation has created a dedicated uberPOOL pick-up and drop-off zone on Pico and 18th Street, while encouraging students and faculty to share a ride to and from campus as a way to relieve stress, traffic congestion and the need for dedicated parking. This matters because the average student drives 9.3 miles to campus, and then spends valuable time and money vying for a parking spot – which could also mean being late for class.
Uber will do its part by helping to ensure rides with uberPOOL are available at the push of a button, while offering SMC Foundation affiliated first-time users up to $20 off their first ride with uberPOOL. Uber will also fund a newly-created uberPOOL Environmental Studies Scholarship at SMC Foundation with resources provided for every student, faculty or staff member that signs up to drive with Uber – a flexible work opportunity that works around their schedule and not the other way around.
“The Santa Monica College foundation is proud to establish – fully-funded by Uber – the uberPOOL Environmental studies. The scholarship is entirely funded by UBER. Because SMC Foundation is a leader in campus sustainability in the California Community College system, it seems only fitting to identify and support our students who aspire and hope to implement environmental policies and best practices to serve our global community., explained Lizzy Moore, Interim Dean, Institutional Advancement, SMC Foundation.
Affordability, innovation, sustainability: that’s what SMC Foundation and uberPOOL have in common, according to the partners, so a partnership built on advancing these principles only makes sense, they said.
"Together, we can get more people into fewer cars, meaning fewer emissions and less congestion – which saves time on the commute," they added.
Uber is thrilled to join Santa Monica College in taking this step toward making Santa Monica – our home in Southern California – cleaner, greener and a whole lot easier to get around.
