Student News

Kentucky Wildcab is on the road

Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 25, 2022) — Are you going out with friends this weekend? Consider catching a Wildcab. Kentucky Wildcab service is now in operation for the fall semester.

This free, late-night, on-demand student transportation option runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Its primary goal is to support responsible late-night transportation decisions.

Rides are limited to the general campus vicinity with the service area accommodating most areas adjacent to the University of Kentucky campus.

This popular student transportation option is now powered by Uber. Through a first-of-its-kind partnership, the student-operated ride-sharing service is now available on Uber’s familiar and proven technology platform.

Before requesting a ride for the first time, students must activate the Wildcab option within Uber’s platform. Plan ahead and take these two simple steps:

  1. Download the Uber app onto your smartphone and create an Uber account, if you don’t already have one.
  2. Complete the Wildcab Uber enrollment form, which will verify your UK student status and grant access to the free Wildcab option. If you already have an Uber account, be sure to use the email address that is connected to your existing account. 

If creating a new Uber account, students will be asked to enter a form of payment — credit, debit, etc. — but know that Kentucky Wildcab is free-of-charge. You’ll only be charged if you opt to choose a traditional Uber rideshare vehicle option instead of a Wildcab.

Once your UK student eligibility has been verified via the Wildcab Uber enrollment form, Wildcab service will be enabled on your Uber account for the duration of your time as a Wildcat and you can begin requesting rides directly from the Uber app. Wildcab will appear as one of your options, provided your ride request is within Wildcab’s service area and hours of operation.

Kentucky Wildcab is operated by UK Transportation Services using student employees who have undergone background checks and been trained to drive the Wildcabs. The service is provided by the UK Student Government Association, with funding assistance from the Student Transportation Council. 

To learn more about this service, visit www.uky.edu/wildcab.

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.