Guaranteed Ride Guidelines

ConnectingVA RIDE HOME REWARDS PROGRAM PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES

Eligibility

• An individual must have a member account with TRAFFIX.
• The account profile must include the following in order to provide a ride: name of employer, work location, home location, work days, a mobile phone number, a work phone number, at least one trip profile that includes carpool, vanpool or transit as a travel mode, and the location of the park-and-ride lot used, if applicable (park-and-ride information is necessary if the member needs a ride back to their car instead of home).
• The account member must have used carpool, vanpool, or transit to travel to work and logged at least five (5) of those trips in the thirty-day period prior to using this service.
• The account member must have used carpool, vanpool, or transit to travel to work on the day a ride is requested.
• The member must be employed full or part time.
• The member must have a work location (must be an official employer location, not a home or public Wi-Fi location) in the following areas of the Richmond or Hampton Roads regions:  Counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Southampton, and York; and the Cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg.

 

Hours of Operation

This service is available Monday through Friday between 8am and 4pm, except for the holidays listed below.  All rides must be requested by 4pm.  A ride may take place after 4pm, but no later than 10pm.

Holidays – No Service

New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday/President’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus and Yorktown Victory Day, Election Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day

 

Program Details

• Eligible members may use up to six (6) rides in each twelve (12) month period, starting on the date the member joined and set up their account.  The maximum number of rides an eligible member may use in one calendar month is two (2).
• This service may only be used in cases of unexpected personal or family emergency, unexpected illness (self), unscheduled overtime, illness to immediate family member (child, spouse, parent), carpool or vanpool left early, carpool or vanpool is not available for ride home.
• Cases in which this service cannot be used, include the following: Previously schedule medical appointments, trips to the doctor’s office, hospital, urgent care office or emergency room for the member’s personal care, medical emergencies, a declared state of emergency, building closures, evacuations, business related travel, transit service disruptions or delays, personal errands, travel to and from bars or restaurants, weather, natural or manmade disasters or emergencies, and working late without a supervisor’s request.
• Rides for approved requests will be provided by either a taxi (zTrip) or Uber.  The choice of ride provider is the sole discretion of the program dispatcher.
• Rides are provided only from the member’s work location to the member’s home or where their car is parked (e.g. park-and-ride lot). No other pick-up and drop-off locations are permitted and cannot be changed once the ride has been arranged.

Cost – There is no cost to the member to use this service.  The program pays for the costs of rides directly to the ride providers. The program does not pay or reimburse for tipping the drivers, but members are encouraged to tip the drivers.  Tipping is the only out-of-pocket cost to the member.

No Shows – A “No Show” is when a member does not show up for the arranged ride. No Shows will count as a ride used.  Cancelled rides will also count as a ride used.

 

How to Use the Service

1. Before requesting a ride, be sure all of the eligibility requirements shown in this document are met. Sign in to your account and check your account profile and trip profile settings to ensure the information is correct.
2. Ride requests must be made through the website or mobile app. Do not call to request a ride as ride requests cannot be made by phone.
3. To request a ride, sign in to your account either through the website or mobile app.
4. In the Featured Rewards section there will be a reward for this program. Select it, read all information and redeem the reward.
5. Next, complete the Ride Request.
6. You will receive an email confirmation for your ride request, as well as a call from program dispatcher to confirm the details of your request and, if approved, arrange the ride for you.
7. Once the ride is arranged, if the ride was arranged with Uber, you will receive text messages from Uber with your ride details. If the ride was arranged with a taxi provider (zTrip), you may receive a call from the taxi company to confirm your ride details. Once a ride has been arranged, you cannot make changes to the pick-up and drop-off locations.
8. The cost of the ride is paid by the program. You will not need to pay for the ride. However, the program does not tip the drivers and you are encouraged to tip the driver.  Tips will not be reimbursed by the program.

Terms and Conditions 

This service may be terminated at any time without notice. Inappropriate or fraudulent use of this service may result in the member’s reimbursement of all expenses incurred and/or suspension or termination from the use of the service.

By requesting and accepting a ride under this program, the member assumes all risk to person and property during the conveyance of the ride. Furthermore, the member agrees to hold harmless DRPT and its partner, the Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) – TRAFFIX Program from any injury or damages occurring or as a result of the ride provided.

ConnectingVA and ConnectingVA Ride Home Rewards are programs provided by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) in partnership with TRAFFIX, a service of Hampton Roads Transit.