LyftUp Voting Access 2020: Lyft
In the 2016 presidential election, it’s estimated that more than 15 million eligible voters didn’t go to the polls largely because they had no transportation to get them there. Add COVID-19 to the picture, and the 2020 election threatened to be an even more difficult election for many Americans.
In January 2020, Lyft, the ride providing app, announced that it would provide riders with free and discounted rides to the polls through the primaries and the general election. This built on the Ride To Vote campaign begun in 2018 by the company, and also included Lyft Bikes & Scooters for the first time.
Lyft’s Voting Access Program is part of the company’s LyftUp Initiative, a comprehensive effort to expand transportation access to those who need it most. LyftUp bridges the most serious transportation gaps in cities across North America, using free and discounted rides to help address challenges like joblessness, food insecurity, and poor health. Lyft partnered with More Than a Vote, which gave ride access to arena polling locations in Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Orlando, and Philadelphia; with Black Women’s Roundtable, which also provides rides to voters, and with WhenWeAllVote.org, which helps people register to vote.
Lyft created a three-pronged approach to support people with voter registration and rides to the polls in 2020:
- Actively promote voter registration and planning deadlines to riders and drivers. On National Black Voter Day and National Voter Registration Day, Lyft promoted various tools and resources to its communities.
- Get people to the polls or vote drop boxes: On Election Day, the company offered 50% off one ride (up to $10) to any polling location or dropbox. This offer also extended to bikes and scooters.
- Offer entirely free transportation to the polls for those in need. By working alongside respected partner organizations, Lyft expanded efforts to get more rides to people who need them throughout the election cycle.
- Lyft executed this program by launching its voting hub, ride code and nonprofit partners well before election day and took advantage of key moment such as National Voter Registration Day on September 22 to activate messages across rider and driver-owned channels to remind the community to register to vote.
Voting Access helped open doors with dozens of paying Lyft Business client—both new and existing—because of shared values and goals. The program was amplified by partnering with more than 200 celebrities, influencers, artists, athletes, and others. The program also helped Lyft build positive relationships with community groups, nonprofit partners, and elected officials. Hundreds of thousands of people received rides to the polls on election day (and to early voting sites). Thousands of people took advantage of the bikes and scooters, too. Through the Lyft Voting Access Hub and a partnership with WhenWeAllVote.org, nearly 30,000 people made a transportation plan for voting, verified their registration or registered to vote.
Lyft executed this program by launching its voting hub, ride code and nonprofit partners well before election day and took advantage of key moment such as National Voter Registration Day on September 22 to activate messages across rider and driver-owned channels to remind the community to register to vote.
