Lime will offer free e-scooter and bicycle rides to the polls on Election Day, the company announced in a blog post. The code “LIME2VOTE18” will unlock any of Lime’s bikes or electric scooters on Nov. 6 for a free ride to a polling place up to 30 minutes away.
In addition to providing free rides, Lime is teaming up with Vote.org and I am a voter to encourage riders to sign up for reminders and other information about registration deadlines, absentee ballot requests, and polling place locations. On Nov. 6, all Lime customers will receive an email with the free-ride code and information from both partner organizations, Lime said. The company claims to operate in more than 100 U.S. cities across 27 states.
Lime said it will also give its own full-time employees time off on Election Day not only to cast their ballots, but to volunteer with local campaigns.
Lime, which counts Uber as an investor, isn’t the only mobility-service company that will work to get more people to the polls Nov. 6. Lyft will offer 50 percent discounts on its ride-hailing service, and even free rides in some cases. Like Lime, Lyft is also partnering with advocacy groups to offer notifications about voting-registration deadlines and information on polling-place locations.
Both Lime and Lyft have noted that lack of transportation to the polls can be a serious impediment to voting, with Lyft claiming that 15 million people were unable to vote in the 2016 election because they could not get to a polling place.