Our Emergency Ride Home Program - Your Insurance Policy
by Lily Lowder
January 18, 2021
Redeem your Emergency Ride Home voucher on the app or website. Source: Getty Images
What happens if your carpool partner gets sick and leaves you stranded at work? Or your daughter falls ill at school and the bus route doesn't go there?
If you've been worried about unexpected circumstances derailing your commute, our Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program can allay those fears. If you've taken a smart commute to work and you have an emergency, the Alamo Commutes ERH willpay for your trip home - up to $50 per trip, up to four times per year.
Check out answers to some frequently asked ERH questions.
Eligibility Requirements
User Profile
In order to be eligible for the Emergency Ride Home reimbursement, users must meet these requirements:
- You must live or work in Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, or Kendall County.
- You must have an up-to-date Alamo Commutes profile on the website or mobile app. Your home and work address must be accurate so that we can cross-reference your ERH trip receipt with your user profile.
- You must have recorded three (3) smart commute trips on the Alamo Commutes platform in the last seven days. A round-trip commute (from home to work and back) counts as two trips. If you have a regular smart commute, you can automatically record your trips on the Alamo Commutes app or website.
- Qualifying commute modes include:
- Bicycle, scooter or other non-vehicular conveyance
- Carpool and vanpool
- Public transit
- Walking
- You are eligible for an Emergency Ride Home reimbursement if you are a full-time, part-time or contract worker, and if you meet the other conditions. College students also qualify.
- If you do not meet the above requirements, the Emergency Ride Home voucher will not appear as a reward in the Alamo Commutes Rewards section.
Qualifying Emergencies
Qualifying emergencies may include:
- Personal or family emergency (e.g., break-in at home, home maintenance emergency, child suspended from school)
- Personal or family illness
- Unscheduled overtime
- Typical commuting mode becomes unexpectedly unavailable (e.g., vanpool vehicle breaks down)
- Transportation to a hospital or doctor’s office following an on-the-job injury
Circumstances that would not qualify may include:
- Pre-arranged appointments, such as visits to the doctor or dentist
- Work-related travel, such as rides to the airport or business meetings across town
- Rides to work
- Transit delays
- Overtime that occurs regularly or scheduled in advance
- A ride home after drinking
Requesting an ERH
1) Take Your Trip
When an emergency arises, select the transportation mode you'd like to use to get home.Your reimbursement covers the cost of a taxi or other ride for hire trip, rented vehicle (such as carshare, scooter or bicycle), or transit. If you've selected rideshare, call or text the cab or other ride-for-hire company of your choice (such as Uber or Lyft) to arrange for a ride. If it is related to your emergency, an intermediate stop (such as at a daycare or school to pick up a sick child) is allowed before going home or to where you’ve left your car.
You'll pay for the ride up front. Make sure you get a receipt showing the ride service company name, date, time, charges, and origin and destination addresses, and driver’s name or ID number. Tips are NOT included in their imbursement.
2) Request Reimbursement
No more than seven days after your emergency ride home, request a reimbursement form through the “Rewards” section of the Alamo Commutes website or mobile app (click on "Get Rewards" and scroll down to find the CARE Program, or search “CARE” in the Rewards search bar.)
DO NOT request a rebate form before an emergency trip is taken, because the form will expire in one week. The reimbursement request form will be sent to you within 24 hours of download. Email the completed form and your receipt to aampo@alamoareampo.org or mail it to 825 South Saint Mary's Street, San Antonio, TX, 78205.
In cases where a ride home costs more than $50 the employee may either pay the difference or submit more than one reimbursement request voucher for the same ride.
3) Receive Reimbursement
Following positive verification that you have met the conditions mentioned above, the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (AAMPO) will send you a reimbursement check for up to $50 per voucher.
Our Emergency Ride Home program is your insurance policy for a stress-free smart commute.
Questions? Email lowder@alamoareampo.org.