Terms of Service

These Terms are a binding agreement between you and Tripp. Transportation LLC ("Tripp."), governing your use of the Tripp. app. By creating an account you agree to them.

Tripp. is a neutral technology marketplace. We provide software that lets verified students find each other and arrange shared, cost-sharing carpools. We do not provide transportation.

Tripp. is not a transportation carrier, common carrier, taxi service, for-hire operator, or rideshare company (TNC); and is not an employer, principal, agent, partner, joint venturer, or contractor of any driver, nor a party to or guarantor of any trip between users.

No employment or control. Drivers are independent private individuals. Tripp. does not hire, employ, train, supervise, direct, dispatch, schedule, or control any driver. We do not assign trips, set routes, require drivers to accept anyone, or dictate when they drive. Drivers use their own vehicles, choose their own trips, and set their own price within the cost-sharing cap. No agency, employment, partnership, or joint venture is created by these Terms.

We provide the software. The trip is between you and the other user, and the risks of that trip are yours and theirs — not ours.

You must be at least 18 years old, have a school email address that ends in .edu, verify it by entering the 6-digit code we email to it, and provide accurate information including your date of birth. Accounts are personal and may not be shared or transferred.

Email codes. A code expires after 10 minutes. To protect accounts, we limit how many codes can be requested and how many wrong codes can be entered, for each account and for each email address; when a limit is reached, requesting or entering codes is paused for a while. If you signed up with the wrong address, Wrong email? Start over on the code screen deletes that unverified account so you can sign up again. An unverified account that has no other activity on Tripp. and has not been used for 7 days is deleted automatically (see our Privacy Policy).

Drivers may not profit. The total a driver may collect across all seats may not exceed the estimated trip cost (distance × the IRS standard mileage rate). Per-seat prices come from that capped total; seat position may change the price (front higher, middle lower). A driver is not in breach of this limit by charging a price our server has checked and allowed (below).

How the cap is applied. When we can calculate the trip distance, our server lowers any seat price that is above that seat's share of the cap, including a driver's offer on a ride request. That share is rounded to whole dollars and is never less than $1 a seat. If we cannot calculate the distance between the places entered, prices are not lowered automatically, and the driver remains responsible for keeping the total within the cap.

Tipping is not available, because extra payments would exceed the cost-sharing limit. Amounts paid are a shared contribution to trip expenses, not a fare.

Cost basis. The cap comes from the IRS standard business mileage rate — the federal government's published measure of what operating a vehicle costs (fuel, maintenance, insurance, registration, and depreciation). Tripp. uses a rate below the current IRS figure, measures distance conservatively, and caps the total across all seats, so filling the car never lets the driver recover more than the capped total, apart from the cases described above. Full methodology available at legal@ridewithtripp.com.

Riders may post a ride request for a trip on a set date and time. A verified driver who is not suspended may offer seats on it at a price per seat of at least $1; if that price is above the cost-sharing cap, our server lowers it in the same way as for any ride (Section 3).

If the rider accepts an offer, the booking is confirmed straight away, and the card is charged only after the trip, as described in Section 4. If an accepted offer can no longer be confirmed (for example, because the driver is no longer verified), nothing is booked or charged and the request reopens for other drivers. If a rider posts the same request again within 10 minutes, the later copy is cancelled automatically. A request that is still open at its trip time expires, and nothing is charged.

Tripp. charges riders a 15% service fee plus processing costs, for use of the platform. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never store your full card details.

You are not charged when you book. Your card is saved, a hold may be placed at pickup, and you are charged after the trip completes. If no driver accepts before departure, the booking is cancelled and you are not charged. Drivers are responsible for any taxes on amounts received.

A trip is charged only if it was started with the rider's pickup code (Section 7.1), or is one of the earlier trips started without a code described there. A booking that never starts — for example a no-show, a cancellation, or a card declined at pickup — is not charged. If a trip is still marked in progress 48 hours after pickup, Tripp. completes it automatically, charges the rider, and tells you both.

Every trip arranged through Tripp. must be booked and paid for through Tripp. This is a material term, not a preference. You may not pay a driver, or accept payment from a rider, in cash, Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, PayPal, bank transfer, or any other method outside the platform; request or accept any additional payment before, during, or after a trip; or arrange, negotiate, or complete a trip off-platform with someone you found on Tripp.

Why this matters. The cost-sharing cap in Section 3 is enforced by our software, as described there. Any payment made outside the platform defeats that cap and may cause a driver to receive more than the cost of providing the trip — inconsistent with the cost-sharing basis Tripp. operates on, and exposing that driver to regulatory and insurance consequences they may not anticipate.

Consequences. Requesting or making an off-platform payment, or arranging a trip off-platform, may result in immediate suspension or permanent removal. Trips arranged or paid for outside the platform are not covered by any part of these Terms: no booking record, no receipt, no dispute resolution, no safety or reporting process, and no support of any kind. Please report anyone who asks you to pay or book off-platform.

You may receive a $5.00 credit when a person you refer completes their first qualifying trip of $40.00 or more. A referral code may only be entered during sign-up, before your first trip.

Credits are applied automatically to a future booking of a seat on a posted ride of $40.00 or more; they are not applied to trips booked by accepting a driver's offer on a ride request. One credit applies per trip; credits do not combine. Credits expire 90 days after they are issued, have no cash value, cannot be transferred, sold, or withdrawn, and are redeemable only against a booking on Tripp.

A credit reduces Tripp.’s service fee only. It never reduces the amount paid to a driver. If a booking that used a credit is cancelled or declined, the credit is returned with its original expiry date.

A credit is earned only by a completed trip that was started in the app (Section 7.1). If the qualifying trip is later refunded, any credit it produced that has not yet been used is cancelled, including after it has been issued. If that happens the referred person becomes eligible again, so a later genuine qualifying trip still earns the credit. We may also cancel a credit whose qualifying trip is left unpaid, reversed, or charged back.

Credits are issued at Tripp.’s discretion. We may withhold or revoke credits, and suspend accounts, where we reasonably believe referrals are being manufactured — including self-referrals, duplicate or fake accounts, or trips arranged solely to trigger a credit.

Before a trip starts. Tripp. authorizes the fare on the rider’s card at pickup. If the card is declined, the trip cannot start — the driver is told, and may cancel the booking. Nothing is charged, and the seat is released.

After a trip is completed. A completed trip is a debt, not a cancellation: the driver has already done the drive. If the charge fails, the booking is marked unpaid, both people are told, and Tripp. retries the card once a day for up to four days. You may also pay at any time from the trip in the app. Retries and payments from the trip use the card currently saved on your account (your default card or, if none is set, your most recently added card), which may not be the card you booked with.

While a trip is unpaid you cannot book another. A new booking made with an unpaid trip outstanding is cancelled automatically. Tripp. may also recover unpaid amounts by other lawful means, and may suspend or remove accounts that leave trips unpaid. Drivers are paid once the rider’s payment clears.

To receive money a driver must complete Stripe’s payout onboarding (identity and bank details, held by Stripe). Until that is complete and Stripe has enabled payouts, a driver cannot accept bookings.

On a verified trip the driver’s share is sent with the rider’s payment when the trip completes. Where a trip was started without a code (no longer possible — see Section 7.1), the driver's share is held until the rider confirms the trip took place, or Tripp. releases it after review.

A payout is never released where the rider’s payment has not been collected, or has been refunded, reversed, or charged back. Where a payment is reversed after a driver has been paid, Tripp. may recover that amount from the driver’s future payouts. Drivers are responsible for any taxes on amounts they receive.

Drivers must hold a valid, unexpired license, maintain valid auto insurance meeting state minimums, lawfully operate a registered and roadworthy vehicle, never exceed the platform's passenger limits or the vehicle's seat belts, and obey all traffic laws.

Document verification. You consent to us collecting images (or PDFs) of your license and insurance card and, if you add one, a photo of your vehicle, and to automated review using a third-party AI service. Current versions of the app also ask you to confirm this when you submit. The service receives those images with the vehicle make, model and color you entered. It reads what is printed, including the name, date of birth and dates on your license and the dates on your insurance card, and says whether your vehicle photo matches the vehicle you entered and how many seats that model usually has.

The decision is made by our own system from what the service read, not by the AI. It rejects a submission if a document cannot be read, if the license or insurance card has expired, or if the license shows you are under 18, and it compares the name on your license with the name on your account. If the expiration date, date of birth or name on your license cannot be read clearly, or the names cannot be matched, your submission is held, and you cannot drive, until a person at Tripp. checks the item that could not be decided. Otherwise approval is automated. We read your documents only from the files you upload to your own account, so upload photos of your own documents.

"Verified" means ONLY that a driver submitted documents our automated review found to be legible, apparently unexpired, and generally consistent with what they entered, or that, where the automated review could not read or match an item, a person at Tripp. checked only that item (legibility, expiration, age or name) and let the submission through. Our current review also rejects a license showing the holder is under 18 and compares the name on the license with the name on the account; drivers verified earlier may not have been through every one of these checks. A name match is not an identity check: it shows only that two names look alike, and our comparison allows for nicknames, initials and middle names.

Verification is NOT and does NOT include: a criminal background check · a sex-offender registry check · a driving-record or traffic-violation check · drug or alcohol screening · an identity or biometric confirmation that the person driving is the person on the license · any inspection of the vehicle's mechanical condition · or confirmation that an insurance policy is currently in force, paid, or provides any particular coverage.

Verification is NOT a representation, warranty, endorsement, or guarantee that any driver or rider is safe, competent, law-abiding, honest, insured, or suitable to travel with. Documents can be forged, altered, stolen, or become invalid after review, and automated review can make mistakes.

You must exercise your own judgment about every person you travel with. Do not treat "verified" as a substitute for your own caution.

TRIPP. HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF ANY USER. Tripp. has not passed upon the character, honesty, competence, driving ability, mental or physical fitness, or suitability of any user, nor upon the accuracy or adequacy of any information a user has supplied. Any representation to the contrary is unauthorized and false.

A verification badge, a rating, a completed-ride count, or any other indicator on the platform is a record of activity, not a recommendation. No badge is a statement by Tripp. that a person is safe to travel with.

We require an email address that ends in .edu and confirm it received a code, or a verification link, we sent to it. That is the entire check. It shows only that someone had access to that inbox at that moment.

It does not establish that the person is currently enrolled, is the person the address was issued to, is a student rather than alumni or staff, or is of the age or identity they claim. Institutions issue .edu addresses widely and often leave retired accounts active. A .edu address is an eligibility filter, not proof of identity or enrollment.

TRIPP. DOES NOT PROVIDE INSURANCE OF ANY KIND. We do not offer, arrange, broker, underwrite, or maintain any liability, collision, uninsured-motorist, medical, or trip-protection coverage for any user or trip. There is no Tripp. insurance policy behind your trip.

Riders — your recourse is the driver, not Tripp. If you are injured or your property is damaged, your sole and exclusive recourse is against the driver personally and the driver's own auto insurance (and any other at-fault party). Tripp. is not a source of recovery, is not an insurer, and has no obligation to compensate you for any injury, death, loss, or damage. Maintain your own health and personal insurance.

Drivers — you must confirm your own coverage. You must independently confirm with your insurance company, before driving on Tripp., that cost-sharing carpooling is permitted under your policy. Many personal auto policies contain "livery," "public conveyance," "for-hire," or "business use" exclusions. Accepting cost-sharing payments could result in a denial of coverage, cancellation or non-renewal of your policy, a premium increase, or personal liability for amounts your insurer refuses to pay.

You assume all of those risks. By driving on Tripp. you represent that you have confirmed your coverage, and you agree Tripp. has no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any coverage denial, claim denial, cancellation, non-renewal, premium increase, deductible, or uninsured loss. Tripp. does not give insurance advice.

No verification of coverage. We review an image of an insurance card at signup. That is not confirmation that a policy is active, paid, adequate, or applicable to carpooling at the time of any trip.

You agree not to: carry weapons, illegal drugs, or unlawful items; drive under the influence; harass, threaten, discriminate against, or endanger any user; misrepresent your identity, vehicle, or documents; arrange payment outside the platform or solicit users to transact off-platform; or use Tripp. for commercial transportation.

There is no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users. Report them (Section 7.2); we may remove content and suspend or remove accounts. To keep trips on the platform, the app will not send a chat message that looks like it shares a phone number, a payment app or a social-media handle.

Each confirmed booking has a 4-digit pickup code. The rider is shown the code; the driver must enter it to start the trip. Before giving the code, riders should confirm the vehicle and licence plate match the trip shown in the app.

A trip cannot be marked as started, completed, or charged unless the code is entered (apart from the few earlier trips started without a code, described below). Tripp. does not track your location during a trip — the code is therefore the primary record that a rider was present and that a trip actually began, and Tripp. may rely on it when resolving a dispute about whether a trip took place.

There is no longer any exception. A trip that cannot be verified with the code does not start. If a rider cannot produce their code at the car, the driver should cancel the booking — nobody is charged, and the rider is free to book again. The same applies after six incorrect codes, when no more codes can be entered for that booking. Drivers must not take a rider who cannot give the code and settle up outside Tripp.: that is a breach of Section 4.1 and leaves the trip with no record, no receipt and no protection for either of you.

Riders: your code appears in the app as soon as a driver accepts your booking, so you will have it well before pickup. Take a note of it, and make sure your phone has charge for the journey.

Trips started without a code before this rule. A small number of earlier trips were started without a code and are permanently marked unverified. For those trips the driver's payment is held until the rider confirms the trip took place, and Tripp. decides any dispute on the evidence it holds — the times the trip started and ended, messages on the booking, and both accounts' history. No payment is released where the rider's payment was refunded or charged back.

Do not share your code with anyone other than the driver at the point of pickup. If someone already knows your code without you providing it, do not enter the vehicle.

You can report or block another user by tapping their name on a ride, a request, a trip or a chat, and unblock them in Profile → Blocked Users. Blocking hides that person's rides, ride requests and chat messages from you in the app. It does not tell them, does not stop them from seeing your posts or booking your rides, and does not cancel a trip already booked between you — cancel or report it the normal way. Notifications about them, including of their chat messages, may still reach you.

Reports go to the Tripp. team for review. In an emergency, call 911.

Only the rider on a booking can report that booking's driver as a no-show, from 30 minutes after the scheduled departure. Reporting ends the booking, and the rider is not charged. The driver is notified and has 48 hours to dispute the report in the app; a person at Tripp. decides disputed reports. If a driver ends a confirmed booking at or after its scheduled departure and the trip never started, Tripp. may file a no-show report on it, which a person at Tripp. decides.

Every rider's report is checked against its booking. A report does not count if it was not filed by that booking's rider, if it repeats an earlier report on the same booking, or if the trip was started in the app (Section 7.1). Instead of counting automatically, a report goes to a person at Tripp., who may uphold it (a warning) or dismiss it, when the booking was confirmed after the scheduled departure; when the rider accepted a driver's offer on a ride request less than 2 hours before the trip; when the ride's date or time changed after it was booked; when there is no record of the driver accepting; when the report was filed less than 30 minutes after departure; or in other unusual cases.

A driver who accepts a booking is responsible for the pickup, however close to departure they accepted it. A report that is not disputed and passes these checks becomes one confirmed warning 48 hours after it was filed. A missed trip counts as one warning, however many riders on it report it.

Confirmed warnings escalate: 5 = 7-day suspension · 8 = 30-day · 10 = 90-day · 15 = permanent. A suspended driver cannot post rides or offer seats on ride requests. We may also suspend or terminate any account for violations or conduct we reasonably believe endangers users.

Riders may cancel before pickup; drivers may decline or cancel. Repeated cancellations may restrict your account. Bookings not accepted by departure are automatically cancelled at no charge.

Seats are held by one rider at a time. If two riders book the same seat at once, the earlier booking keeps it and the later one is cancelled before the driver sees it. Nothing is charged to the rider whose booking is cancelled.

A trip that has already departed cannot be booked. A booking created after the departure time is cancelled automatically and the rider is told, because the driver has already left.

Automatic cancellations. Rides posted by a driver who is not verified or is suspended, and rides or ride requests that leave Florida, are cancelled automatically, and nothing is charged.

After a completed trip both parties are asked to rate each other. Only the rider and the driver on that trip can rate each other, and each person's rating of the other counts once per trip: if you rate the same trip again, only your latest rating counts. A rating counts toward anyone's score only if the trip was started in the app (Section 7.1). Reviews must be truthful and free of unlawful, harassing, or discriminatory content. We may remove violating reviews.

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.

No guarantee about people or vehicles. Tripp. does not guarantee the identity, background, criminal history, driving record, conduct, competence, sobriety, honesty, insurance status, or safety of any user; the condition, maintenance, or roadworthiness of any vehicle; or that any trip will occur or occur on time.

ASSUMPTION OF RISK. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT TRAVELING IN A PRIVATE VEHICLE WITH ANOTHER PERSON INVOLVES INHERENT RISKS, INCLUDING MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS, SERIOUS BODILY INJURY, DISABILITY, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, THEFT, HARASSMENT, AND CRIMINAL CONDUCT BY OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES. YOU KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS, whether caused by another user's negligence, a third party, or otherwise.

RELEASE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU RELEASE AND FOREVER DISCHARGE TRIPP. TRANSPORTATION LLC AND ITS MEMBERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS FROM ALL CLAIMS, KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, ARISING FROM: any motor vehicle accident, collision, injury, or death during or connected to a trip; the acts, omissions, or negligence of any user or third party; any dispute between users; the condition or operation of any vehicle; any insurance coverage denial, cancellation, or non-renewal; or reliance on any "verified" status shown on the Platform.

Unknown claims. You waive any law limiting the effect of a release as to unknown claims, including California Civil Code § 1542.

Limits. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited or released under applicable law, including for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud. Some states do not allow certain releases; those provisions apply only to the extent permitted.

You are solely responsible for your decision to travel with any other user. Review profiles and ratings, share your trip details with someone you trust, and take normal personal-safety precautions.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TRIPP. WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM OR ANY TRIP. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE SERVICE FEES YOU PAID IN THE PRIOR SIX MONTHS OR $100.

You agree to indemnify and hold Tripp. harmless from claims, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the platform, your trips, or your violation of these Terms or any law.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND TO HAVE A JURY TRIAL.

Informal first. Before arbitration, both sides agree to try to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days. Email a Notice of Dispute to legal@ridewithtripp.com with your name, account email, the problem, and the relief you want.

Agreement to arbitrate. If not resolved in 30 days, you and Tripp. agree any dispute relating to these Terms, the platform, or any trip will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules — not in court. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section.

Exceptions. Either side may bring an individual claim in small claims court, or seek court relief for intellectual-property misuse. Nothing stops you from contacting a government agency.

CLASS ACTION WAIVER. YOU AND TRIPP. MAY BRING CLAIMS ONLY INDIVIDUALLY — NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims or preside over class proceedings. If this waiver is unenforceable for a particular claim, that claim alone proceeds in court and the rest of this section still applies.

JURY TRIAL WAIVER. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BOTH SIDES WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.

Procedure. One arbitrator. Unless agreed otherwise, arbitration happens in the county where you live, or — at your election where AAA rules allow — by phone, video, or written submissions. The award is final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court.

Fees. For claims of $10,000 or less, Tripp. pays AAA filing and arbitrator fees, unless the arbitrator finds the claim frivolous.

Coordinated filings. If 25 or more similar disputes are filed by or with coordinated counsel, they will be handled in batches of up to 50, each before a single arbitrator, with deadlines tolled for claims awaiting a batch.

YOUR 30-DAY OPT-OUT. You can opt out of arbitration by emailing legal@ridewithtripp.com with subject "Arbitration Opt-Out" and your name and account email, within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. Opting out changes nothing else and will not affect your access to Tripp.

This section survives termination of these Terms and your account.

These Terms are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and, where state law applies, by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. If Section 14 is unenforceable, venue is the state or federal courts in Florida. Nothing here deprives you of any mandatory consumer-protection law of your home state.

Where Tripp. operates. Tripp. is currently available only for trips that begin, end, and make every stop within the State of Florida. Students from any state may use Tripp. for trips inside Florida. We may expand to other states, and may limit, suspend, or decline to offer Tripp. in any jurisdiction or adjust features or pricing limits to comply with local law. You are responsible for following the laws where you drive or ride, including licensing and insurance requirements.

We may update these Terms. When we make material changes, we will show you the updated Terms in the app and you must affirmatively accept them — by confirming you have read and agree, and selecting Accept — before you can continue using Tripp. We record the version you accepted and when. If you do not accept, you may not use Tripp.; you may stop using it and request deletion of your account at any time.

We may suspend or terminate accounts as described above. Unverified accounts are deleted as described in Section 2.

Tripp. Transportation LLC
Legal: legal@ridewithtripp.com
Support: support@ridewithtripp.com