The evening before heading to Superior Court to ask a judge to end the 16-day strike by transit workers, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced a plan to partner with Uber to provide rides for commuters.

Billed as “an effort to ease the loss of service for tens of thousands of riders,” VTA is offering Uber vouchers of up to $5 for each ride with a maximum of 2 rides per day.  Rides must begin and end at a VTA bus or light rail stop, and must be ordered on Uber’s mobile app.

The ride share company has geo-coded stops on VTA’s transit system to know when a ride is being hailed to and from a transit stop. Riders will pay the first $2.50 of any ride, after which a $5 voucher will take effect, and any additional costs after the $5 voucher will also be paid by the customer.

"We recognize the difficulties our riders are facing due to the transit strike, and we're committed to offering solutions that can ease their transportation challenges for Santa Clara County residents," the VTA said in a statement.

The vouchers will be available for UberX and Uber Share rides only.

This is a temporary pilot program in an effort to help VTA passengers navigate trips during the strike period, and will end when the strike ends, said VTA.

More information on how to use this service can be found on VTA’s website.

“VTA sincerely regrets the impact the current work stoppage is having on our community and is working hard to reach a resolution with the union to bring employees back to work,” the transit agency said..