Uber, Lyft, Zipcar Offer Free Or Discounted Rides To Polls On Election Day

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Election Day is nearly here, and millions of Americans will head to their respective polling places on Tuesday. You might be able to drive, walk, bike, or jetpack to your voting site, but for those who need a ride (or just a car), a handful of companies are offering free or discounted options.

Lyft, Uber, Zipcar, and Maven have unveiled a variety of discounts and promotions aimed at enabling voters to get to the polls on Tuesday.

Each service is offering its own, personalized route to the voting booths. Here’s a rundown of some of the options:

Uber: The ride-hailing service has teamed up with Google to create an in-app feature that aims to assist voters in locating their poling place and then getting there.

“Given the important decision people around the country will make on November 8th, we wanted to make getting to and from your polling place easier than ever,” the company notes in a blog post on the feature.

Uber will be promoting the offer throughout Election Day with reminder alerts to users.

Lyft: Select Lyft users will receive 45% off their Election Day trip to the polls, The Verge reports, noting that getting back from your polling place will cost full price.

The company said it would send emails Sunday night to customers in eligible areas, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, NC, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans, Nashville, New York City and New Jersey, Orange County, CA, Philadelphia, Portland, OR, Phoenix, Raleigh, NC, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.

Zipcar: If you’re determined to drive yourself to the polls, but don’t have a car, Zipcar is offering members an alternative: a free rental.

The service will make more than 7,000 cars available for free between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday. During that time, members of the service can reserve a free car through the company’s app or website.

“Zipcar selected the evening hours on election night to ensure that members who need to zip to the polls during the last few hours have free, easy access to transportation,” the company said in a blog post, noting that voters who don’t have a Zipcar membership can still sign up.

Maven: Maven — the ride-sharing business from General Motors — will offer riders $5 off all day, a spokesperson tells The Detroit Free press.

Lyft will give you a 45 percent discount for one ride on Election Day [The Verge]
Lyft, Uber, Zipcar, Maven offer Election Day rides [The Detroit Free Press]

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