Uber, (RED) join forces Tuesday to raise money and awareness for World AIDS Day

Uber kicks off the holiday season Tuesday with an ambitious goal: an AIDS-Free Generation.

In celebration of the third annual World AIDS Day – Dec. 1, also known as “Giving Tuesday” – the San Francisco-based on-demand service is partnering with AIDS charity (RED) in its mission to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV globally by 2020.

Users in over 150 cities will see cars turn red in the Uber app, and will have an opportunity to add 5 dollars above the normal UberX fare to go to the fight against AIDS. In addition, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to match all donations made Tuesday dollar-for-dollar.

According to the Uber blog, every 5-dollar donation provides one months’ worth of lifesaving medicine – costing as little as $. 30 a day – to a mother with HIV/AIDS.

To donate, users can choose the (RED) option in the Uber app. The UberX ride will be as usual. At the end of the trip, Uber will contact the rider by SMS for a confirmation, to which they can reply YES to make the 5-dollar donation. Twenty-five cents goes to processing fees, with the remaining $4.75 going to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.

Although customers outside the U.S. are not able to participate in the promotion, they will also see Uber app cars turn red as a symbolic gesture to raise global awareness of the AIDS epidemic.

(RED) was founded in 2006 by U2 lead singer Bono and activist attorney Bobby Shriver as a way to make it easier for individuals and corporations to join in the fight against AIDS and other related viruses. In the past decade, (RED) has raised more than $320 million, joined by major companies such as Starbucks, Apple and Coca-Cola.