Uber Giving Free Rides To Polls On Election Day

Published on October 9, 2018

This week is the deadline to register to vote in many states. You can find out if you’re registered here.

Companies and celebrities alike are pulling out all the stops in an effort to get people to vote during the midterm elections this year. Many companies are offering incentives to vote and are encouraging people to get to the polls. In the past, companies like Rock the Vote have utilized celebrity endorsements to encourage young voters to get to the polls on the first Tuesday in November. This year, ride share companies like Uber and Lyft are encouraging voter turnout by offering free rides to polling stations on November 6.

“Using our technology and resources, we can help make it easier for every Uber rider in the U.S. to get to their polling place at the push of a button,” the company said in a press statement on its website. “We’re also partnering with nonprofit organizations to register voters before state deadlines and provide free rides to the polls on November 6,” it posted. Free rides to the polls will be available via a “Get to the Polls” button that will pop up on the app during voting times on November 6. The company has partnered with #VoteTogether and Democracy Works to provide free rides on voting day.

Uber Works to Increase Voter Turnout

If you’ve used the Uber app this week, you’ve probably noticed that the company is rolling out its own efforts to increase registration numbers. Uber has partnered with When We All Vote to provide information on voting registration to its users. Uber recently celebrated its one billionth ride. The ride share app does over five million rides per day and has over 40 million active users per month.

Uber is a ride share app allows users to sign up as either a rider or driver. It allows people to use their own cars to drive people around, similar to a taxi service, as people hail the ride from their phone. The app launched in March 2009 in San Francisco, and has since grown to become a worldwide phenomenon. The app is currently available in over 80 countries. It has since inspired the launch of other similar apps like Lyft and Grab (in Southeast Asia) among many more.

The New Uber

Uber has recently fallen victim to scandal over its ride share service. The app fell under negative criticism for not running background checks on its drivers. Because of this, the ride share app has spent a good amount of time in the news as the subject of kidnapping scandals and sexual assault issues between its drivers and their customers. Uber has spent the last year cleaning up its act. The company hired new internal leaders to focus on overcoming the wave of scandals. The company has focused on ways to make their service safer for its customers. Users are now able to do things like the safety center, the ability to add trusted contacts, easy access to 911 and annual background checks for its employees.

Free rides to polling stations will be available on both Uber and Lyft on election day. To access this feature, simply make sure your app is updated with the latest version and hit launch. A pop up should come up with the option to get the free ride. For more information about how to register to vote, voting by mail and where you can learn more about the upcoming election visit the vote.org website.

Julia Sachs is a former Managing Editor at Grit Daily. She covers technology, social media and disinformation. She is based in Utah and before the pandemic she liked to travel.

Read more

More GD News