Uber, Lyft, Lime and Skip offer free rides on Election Day

Ride-hailing companies  Uber  and Lyft and electric scooter companies Lime and Skip are offering free and discounted rides to help get people to the polls for the midterm elections on Tuesday.

Lyft was the first to offer the deal, saying in August that it'll give half-priced rides to all voters in the US on Election Day. For underserved communities and those voters with transportation barriers, all rides will be free. For instance, the company partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to give blind people a $15 voucher to get to the polls. The company said Monday it also registered nearly 18,000 people to vote in this election cycle. 

Uber followed Lyft's lead and announced last month that it's handing out a $10 discount for all rides to polling stations. The company also created a polling place button to help voters more easily find where they need to go to cast their ballot on Nov. 6.

"With the 2018 elections around the corner, many organizations and companies across the country are going the extra mile to support our democratic process," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in a blog post. "Using our technology and resources, we can help make it easier for every Uber rider in the US to get to their polling place at the push of a button."

Getting to the polls can be an obstacle for many American voters. Thirty-five percent of youth who didn't go to college say a lack of transportation was why they didn't vote in the 2016 election, according to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.  

Uber, Lyft, Lime and Skip say this is one area where they can help. Skip said last week that it'll give a $5 credit for its dockless electric scooters to riders who share on social media a photo of their "I Voted" sticker with the hashtag #SkiptothePolls on Election Day. And Lime announced earlier this month that it'll offer all users two free 30-minute rides on its scooters or bikes. People just need to use the code LIME2VOTE18. 

Lime has also joined several other tech companies in giving its employees time off on Tuesday to vote. Other companies on this list include Dropbox, Pinterest, Etsy and Okta.

Along with the ride-hailing and scooter companies giving voters a lift to the polls, cities like Los Angeles and Indianapolis are also offering free public transportation all day on Nov. 6.

First published Oct. 4, 10:02 a.m. PT.
Updates, 10:53 a.m.: Includes additional background information; Oct. 31 at 1:18 p.m.: Adds information on Lime, Skip and public transportation; 3:35 p.m.: Adds that the $5 Skip credit requires people to share on social media; Nov. 5 at 4:44 p.m.: Adds information on Lyft registering voters and partnering with the National Federation of the Blind.   

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