Motorist assistance services through UK Transportation Services
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 4, 2024) — It’s getting cold out there, which can put additional stress on a car’s battery. While there’s never a good time for a battery to fail, know that University of Kentucky students and employees have motorist assistance services available through UK Transportation Services.
Transportation Services offers free, on-campus battery jumpstarts for all UK parking permit holders, as well as UK HealthCare patients and their visitors. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This benefit came in handy recently for Melissa Stewart’s daughter, Madeline. Madeline is a UK student who returned to her vehicle in late October to find that her battery had failed, and her car wouldn’t start.
“My daughter's car battery died in the Blue lot,” Stewart said. “I wanted to send a ‘thank you’ to both the person who took our call and called dispatch for us and the employee who responded. Both were so kind, and the response was very quick.”
In addition to battery jumpstarts, a variety of other motorist assistance services are available at a discounted price both on and off campus.
Available services
- Flat-tire changes
- Off-campus battery jumpstarts
- Vehicle towing
- Vehicle lock-out services
- Out of fuel assistance (standard rate plus the cost of fuel)
UK Transportation Services contracts with Lexington-based Roberts Heavy Duty Towing & Recovery for these discounted vehicle services.
The services listed above are available to UK parking permit holders anywhere within Fayette County, inside New Circle Road, for $59. Services provided outside New Circle Road are $59 plus $3.50 per mile.
To be eligible for the UK discount, the contractor may ask for a valid UK parking permit number prior to providing the service. Tow truck drivers accept cash, check or credit cards at the scene.
How to request assistance
Use the contact information below, which is also conveniently located on the reverse side of your parking permit, to request services:
- During regular office hours — 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday — call 859-257-5757 for assistance.
- After business hours, on weekends and on holidays, call Roberts Heavy Duty Towing & Recovery at 859-231-0197.
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.