Image by Sebastiaan ter Burg.

Imagine you’re at a party. You’re having a good time, the music is booming, and everybody is dancing. That cute guy or gal you like offers you a drink. You start chatting,  time flies by and next thing you know, your girlfriend or buddy went off with who-knows-who and you’re left all alone. Stranded. You have no car, it’s 2 AM, you need to get home, but walking isn’t an option. It’s just too far, it’ll take you an hour at least to get home.

No problem. You reach in your pocket, pull out your phone and request a cheap ride on Uber or Lyft. You get home safe. Everything goes smoothly.

Thank God for ride sharing, but your friend owes you … big time.

What’s Uber? And What’s Lyft?

Lyft and Uber are the two most popular companies that provide easy access to cheap transportation through something they call “ride sharing” drivers. All you need to do is download the app and request a driver. What’s the advantage? These services are much cheaper than your standard taxi-cab and saves you the hassle of trying to call a cab company or flag a cab down in the middle of the night (not fun!). Instead, they come to you. All you need to do is request a ride.

Whether you’ve been at a party and would rather catch a ride than drive yourself (good call), you’re looking for a ride after pulling an all-nighter in the lab, or maybe you’re just tired and don’t feel like driving home… ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are great, low-cost alternatives.

Start Off with a Free Ride

All of this sounds tempting enough, and you can try them for free.

Download the app for Uber, and then enter referral code “te3ay” in the “Promotions” menu to get a free ride.

Download the app for Lyft and then use the code “DON252” in the “Payment” tab for a ride free of charge.

Hope this helps you out on a day when you’ve been ditched by your ride and truly need it.