How to Get a Free Ride to Vote on Election Day
If you haven’t heard yet, the midterm elections will take place next Tuesday, November 6th, and it is absolutely imperative that everyone who can vote should vote.
But in fact, to get to the polls can be a big obstacle for many people – especially in a country that does not consider the election days holidays, quietly allowing public transport to crumble along with the rest of the infrastructure, and seems pleased that allows egregious tactics voter suppression in largely uncontrolled.
To get as many people as possible to vote, the bike rental operator Motivate will offer free rides around the country on election day, Fast Company said .
The offer will include rides on all Motivate systems, which currently include Citi Bike in New York and New Jersey; Divvy in Chicago; Bluebikes in Boston; Capital Bikeshare in Washington DC; Nice Ride Minnesota in Minneapolis; Ford GoBike in the Bay Area; Portland, Biketown Oregon; and Columbus, CoGo Ohio.
However, you will still need a smartphone to use the free bikes; The offer can be used by entering “Biketovote” into the bike rental app in your city (and in particular “Vote18” in Chicago).
Uber and Lyft have also renewed similar deals to bring voters to the polls on election day if you prefer a car. Again, to take advantage of these offers requires the use of apps and therefore the first place to own a smartphone, which means that these options will not necessarily solve the multiple accessibility issues for low-income voters.
However, the more free opportunities voters have to get to the polls, the better, and if you tend to ride a bike, you can at least do it for free. Whatever your transportation plan for Tuesday, remember: if you’re registered to vote and someone tries to turn you down on election day, you can almost certainly vote and make sure your vote counts.