In case you havent already heard, midterm elections arenext Tuesday, November 6th, and it is absolutely imperative that everyone who is able to vote, votes.
But actually getting to the polls can be a big obstacle for many peopleespecially in a nation that doesnt treat election days as holidays, has quietly allowed public transit to crumble along with the rest of its infrastructure, andseems content to let flagrant voter suppression tactics go largely unchecked.
In the interest of getting as many people to the polls as possible, bike share system operator Motivate will be offering free rides throughout the country on election day,as Fast Company reports.
The offer will include rides on all of Motivates systems, which currently include Citi Bike in New York and New Jersey; Divvy in Chicago; Bluebikes in Boston; Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C.; Nice Ride Minnesota in Minneapolis; the Bay Areas Ford GoBike; Portland, Oregons Biketown; and Columbus, Ohios CoGo.
However, use of the free bikes will still require a smartphone; the offer is redeemable by entering Biketovote in your citys bike share app (and Vote18" in Chicago specifically).
Uber and Lyft have also extended similar dealsto get voters to the polls on election day if youd rather take a car.
Again, taking advantage of these offers requires using the apps, and therefore, owning a smartphone in the first place, meaning that these options wont necessarily do much to solve the numerous problems of accessibility for low-income voters.
Still, the more free options there are for voters to get to the polls, the better, and if youre inclined to bike it, you should at least be able to do so free of charge.
Whatever your Tuesday transportation plan, remember: if youre registered to vote and someone tries to turn you away on election day,you might almost certainly still cast a ballot and double-check that your vote is counted.
