ORLANDO, Fla. – Catching a ride with Uber is now a bit cheaper if you live in certain parts of Central Florida.
Five cities on Friday announced a partnership with the ride-sharing service that will save riders money.
The cities of Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Longwood, Maitland and Sanford held a news conference to announce the deal.
"The five city partnership is not only the first in Florida. It's not only the first in the United States, it's the first in the world," said Longwood Mayor Joe Durso.
Each city will pay a portion of the Uber cost, if the trips begin and end within the respective city limits.
Trips that begin or end at a SunRail station will receive a 25 percent discount on fares and 20 percent discounts on all other trips.
"Having five neighboring cities involved in this pilot project will allow us to better measure the impact that it has on our efforts to help people get from point A to point B and make it easier and more cost effective for people to use SunRail,"Frank Martz, Altamonte Springs city manager said.
Beside boosting ridership on on SunRail, the option of discounted Uber trips eliminates the need to find parking spaces at popular locations, allows people who can't drive the ability to get around each city and give solutions to urgent needs such as car repairs, health care among others.
In March, the city of Altamonte Springs was the first to enter into an agreement with Uber. Since then, city leaders say ridership has boosted tenfold.
"Any time you can multiply any level of success by ten, you're making an impact," said Martz
To take advantage of the discount:
• DOWNLOAD the Uber app from the Google Play Store or iTunes App Store.
• OPEN the Uber app and select the Promotions option from the menu.
• TAP Set Pickup Location.
• SELECT Promo Code at the bottom of the screen.
• ENTER your city location in the promo code field; for example 'ALTAMONTE', 'LAKE MARY', 'LONGWOOD', 'MAITLAND' or 'SANFORD'.
• SLIDE the icon to the city option
• ENTER the destination by tapping the plus icon on the pickup address box (Android) or the box behind the pickup address (iPhone). • TAP the Request button to submit your trip.
"Uber is excited to be a part of these innovative public-private partnerships, helping extend the reach of the existing public transportation infrastructure and offering the residents of Central Florida additional transportation options," said Christine Mitchell, General Manager of Uber Orlando.