Campus News

Motorist assistance is available

Snow on cars.
Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 23, 2022) — Did you know that typical car batteries start to lose power when the temperature drops below 32 degrees? What do you do if your automobile suddenly leaves you stranded?

University of Kentucky Transportation Services offers free jump-starts, as well as additional discounted motorist assistance services for students, staff and faculty. In preparation for cold weather, add these numbers to your phone contacts:

During regular office hours (7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday):
Call UK Transportation Services: 859-257-5757

After hours, weekends and holidays:
Call Roberts Heavy Duty Towing and Recovery: 859-231-0197

Services offered:
Cold weather can cause outright battery failure or sluggish starts. UK Transportation Services offers free on-campus battery jump-starts for all UK parking permit holders, as well as UK HealthCare patients and their visitors.

Free jump-starts are available on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Use the above contact information, which is also conveniently located on the reverse side of your parking permit.

Additional motorist assistance services are available at a discounted rate, both on and off campus. These include:

  • flat-tire changes;
  • off-campus battery jump-starts;
  • vehicle towing;
  • vehicle lock-out services; and
  • out of fuel assistance (standard rate plus the cost of fuel).

UK Transportation Services contracts with Lexington-based Roberts Heavy Duty Towing and Recovery for a variety of these vehicle services. If you’re a UK parking permit holder and run into issues anywhere within Fayette County, you can take advantage of all the above services for $59 if they’re provided within New Circle Road and $59 plus $3.50 per mile if provided outside of New Circle Road.

To be eligible for the UK discount, the contractor may ask for your valid UK parking permit number prior to providing the service. For your convenience, tow truck drivers accept cash, check or credit cards at the scene. For more information, visit www.uky.edu/transportation/park/motorist-assistance.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.