Reliable transportation is crucial every day, enabling us to get to jobs and medical facilities, buy goods and services, and adding to our quality of life. On Election Day, transportation takes another role: as a tool of democracy.
A CIRCLE analysis found that nearly 15 million voters did not make it to the polls in 2016 because of transportation issues. In addition, 29 percent of all youth aged 18 to 29 cited transit as a reason they didn’t vote.
A free democracy depends on having affordable, multimodal mobility options and we’re pleased to see so many services and transit agencies offering free or discounted rides to the polls. We put together this guide we hope you use and share on Tuesday, November 6, 2018.
If you don’t see your city, please check your local transit agency.
2018 SUMC VOTING TRANSPORTATION GUIDE
*In alphabetical order
LIME: Bike or “scoot” to the polls for free with Lime, who is offering free 30-minute rides on their full fleet of bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters in over 100 cities in the US.
Partners: Vote.org
Extras: Mobile and digital election reminders
LYFT: Enjoy half-off a ride to a polling location with a promo code. While offer caps at $5, they are partnering with nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations to offer free rides to underserved communities.
Partners: Voto Latino, National Federation of the Blind, Faith in Action, League of Women Voters, Student Vets of America, Urban League affiliates and others.
Extras: Registration reminders for passengers and in-office registration for employees.
MOTIVATE: The docked bikeshare company, which was recently purchased by Lyft, is offering free rides in the nine US cities they operate. Use the code BIKETOVOTE for:
Citi Bike (New York & Jersey City);
Bluebikes (Boston-metro);
Capital Bikeshare (Washington D.C.-metro);
Nice Ride Minnesota (Minneapolis);
Ford GoBike (Bay Area); and
CoGo (Columbus, OH)
Divvy (Chicago); use VOTE18 to access the free day pass.
Biketown (Portland, OR); use BIKE2VOTE for 30 minutes of free ride time
PACE (FORMERLY ZAGSTER): Riders in eight Pace cities and universities—Albuquerque, Annapolis, Bloomington IN, Fort Collins CO, Huntsville AL, Knoxville TN, Norfolk VA, and at Purdue University—can enter the code IVOTE on the Pace app and get two free 30-minute rides, one to go vote and one to get home.
SKIP: Residents of San Francisco, Washington DC and Portland can get a $5 credit for taking a Skip e-scooter to the polls – if you follow the company on Twitter or Instagram, share a photo with your “I Voted” sticker, tagging @SkipScooters and including #SkiptothePolls. A redeemable promo code is sent via direct message.
UBER: Uber has active service in 266 cities in the US. On Tuesday, the company will take $10 off a single ride to the polls on the most affordable Uber option available (Express POOL, POOL, or UberX, in that order). However, the promo is not applicable in Puerto Rico, US territories — and Michigan.
Partners: Vote Together and Democracy Works
Extras: A “Get to the Polls” button on their app directs to the nearest polling place.
ZIPCAR: Pick up a Zipcar (and we hope a few friends of voting age) and get a $20 credit toward a future reservation. But the offer is only valid on election night between 6 and 10 p.m. as part of its #DRIVEtheVOTE initiative.
PUBLIC TRANSIT
Austin, TX: All Capital Metro services are waiving their fees on Nov. 6, including MetroBus, MetroRapid, MetroExpress, MetroRail and MetroAccess.
Bay County, FL: Ride the Bay Town Trolley to four out of the six major voting sites in the county. Find details here.
Fox River Valley, IL: Residents in the service area of the River Valley Metro System can ride for free during polling hours.
Houston, TX: Houstonites can enjoy free round-trip rides to and from the polls on METRORail, local buses, and METROLift paratransit services – just tell the bus driver or transit operator you’re voting.
Indianapolis, IN: Rides on bus service IndyGO will be free all day.
Los Angeles, CA: The Los Angeles Metro bus and rail transit system will be free on Election Day – a first for the city. This includes 2,200 bus and six transit lines. Metro bikeshare will also provide free fares for the first 30 minutes at any station kiosk, and individuals with disabilities can book appointments for free van rides through Access Services.
Owensboro, KY: Kentuckians can take public transit services without a charge from 6 AM – 7 PM.
Richmond, VA: The Greater Richmond Transit Company will offer free rides on local routes all day. Their site also lists the nearest polling locations.
Tampa, FL: The following counties are offering free service to polling locations if you show your voter ID card:
Hernando County
Hillsborough County
Manatee County
Pasco County
Pinellas County
Sarasota County
