The program is open to freshmen students only due to freshman parking restrictions at Stanford. The intent of the Freshman Emergency Ride Home program is to provide freshmen a ride home to campus if they are caught without a ride or in an emergency. You're allowed three free rides per academic year.

1. Register for the program. Sign up online or return the completed application form (PDF, 400 KB) to P&TS.

2. When you need a ride, call Yellow Cab of Palo Alto at 650-321-1234 or toll-free at 888-512-1234. Tell them your name and that you are registered with the Stanford Freshman Emergency Ride Home program. Give them the account number 300-350, your pick-up location, on-campus destination, and nature of the emergency. After they verify your information, they'll pick you up.

3. Wait for cab. Do not keep the cab driver waiting (you pay for wait time if you are not there when they show up). They'll take you back to campus. Please note that the program does not cover driver gratuities.

In order to qualify for a free ride, you must:

• be registered with our program
• be a freshman
• have a covered, verifiable need (we can only cover matters of personal necessity, not personal choice)

What is a "covered need"?

• an accident or injury where you need to go to the Stanford Hospital or Vaden Health Center immediately
• a situation where you had a ride home, but your ride left without you
• when you've missed the last Marguerite back to campus

What is NOT a "covered need"?

• rides from campus to an off-campus location
• any non-emergency situation where you did not plan your transportation options well (don't "plan" on utilizing one of these rides; it's meant to be a "safety net")
• need a ride from the airport (take a Super Shuttle, Caltrain, or pay for your own cab)
• going across the campus or off-campus for a party

Restrictions

• only one-way non-stop trips TO campus will be covered coming from Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Atherton, Menlo Park, Redwood City, Portola Valley, Woodside, East Palo Alto, or Sunnyvale (all cities within an 8-mile radius to campus)
• wait time and the cab driver's tips are NOT covered; be ready when the cab arrives
• Stanford will not accept any liability for damage to or cleanup costs for the cab
• you are limited to only THREE one-way trips for the academic year
• rides are non-transferable (you can't give away your ride to a sophomore or non-registered freshman), but you can have multiple people in your cab
• if you call a cab but you don't show up, it will be counted as a ride
• Yellow Cab of Palo Alto (321-1234) is the ONLY cab company participating in this program. Rides from other cab companies will not be covered.