Uber, the ride-sharing service, has announced a new student loyalty program rewarding students for using Uber’s app regularly. Already a popular app for college students on a night out, Uber is looking to strengthen its foothold in the college demographic with its new UberPERKS program.
By signing up for the loyalty program, students can earn discounts on Uber rides and deals at local businesses. To register for the program, students can visit Uber’s website. To maintain Perks status each month, a student has to take four Uber rides or get two new students to sign up for Uber.
According to Uber’s website, the rewards for Elon students include a handful of local businesses. Taaza Bistro, Redefinery & Co., Harris Teeter and Stokely’s BBQ are among the Burlington businesses offering discounts to students using UberPERKS.
In addition to the local businesses, the rewards program offers a number of online savings.
Deborah Pryor, an Uber driver from Burlington, is confident that students will be taking enough trips to earn the rewards.
“I think I’ve made six trips to Target today." said Pryor about her passengers’ favorite destinations. “But a lot of times it’s just from one end of campus to the other.”
Pryor regularly drives near Elon’s campus and said that she can make 200 to 350 dollars per week.
Uber has launched and expanded a number of new services in the past year, including UberEats, a food delivery service that is not yet available in the Elon area. The inception of a loyalty program may be an attempt to keep customers using Uber as other ride-sharing services, such as Lyft, gain popularity.
According to Uber’s website, UberPERKS is currently only available to students at select universities in North Carolina.