The ride-sharing company Lyft is aiming to use its platform as an avenue to get more individuals to the polls during the midterm elections. The franchise is teaming up with organizations to provide both free and discounted rides to polling places, CNN reported.
Lyft is partnering with the Urban League, Voto Latino, the National Federation of the Blind, TurboVote, Nonprofit Vote, and Vote.org for the initiative, the news outlet writes. Aside from providing rides at lower rates, voters will be able to find polling locations through the app and stay updated about deadlines. Lyft felt compelled to create this initiative after millions of people didn’t vote in 2016 due to transportation limitations. “It’s about using our voice and our platform to make sure folks have access to go vote,” Mike Masserman, Head of Social Impact, Lyft, told CNET. He added that he wanted to partner with grassroots organizations because they have “expertise to know who needs a ride to the poll and when they need that ride.”
This initiative comes at a time where it’s imperative for individuals from underserved communities to cast their votes. There recently was a plan proposed to close down polling places in predominately Black communities in Georgia which was eventually halted. The U.S. midterm elections are slated to take place on November 6.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter to show her support for the initiative.
Lyft has launched several initiatives designed to make a social impact. This year the company offered cancer patients free rides to treatment and pledged to allocate over $1.5 million towards providing veterans and low-income individuals with free rides to job interviews and other appointments. The company also teamed up with Black Girls CODE to increase racial diversity in the realm of STEM.
SEE ALSO:
Black Girls CODE And Lyft Team Up To Increase Racial Representation In STEM
Kristen Clarke Warns Georgia To Stop Suppressing The Black Vote, Or Else
Lyft To Provide Free And Discounted Rides On Election Day was originally published on newsone.com
