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Uber, Lyft, Zipcar Offer Free Or Discounted Rides To Polls On Election Day (consumerist.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the point-A-to-point-B dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Consumerist: Lyft, Uber, Zipcar, and Maven have unveiled a variety of discounts and promotions aimed at enabling voters to get to the polls on Tuesday. The ride-hailing service [Uber] has teamed up with Google to create an in-app feature that aims to assist voters in locating their poling place and then getting there. "Given the important decision people around the country will make on November 8th, we wanted to make getting to and from your polling place easier than ever," the company notes in a blog post on the feature. Uber will be promoting the offer throughout Election Day with reminder alerts to users. Select Lyft users will receive 45% off their Election Day trip to the polls, The Verge reports, noting that getting back from your polling place will cost full price. The company said it would send emails Sunday night to customers in eligible areas, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, NC, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Orleans, Nashville, New York City and New Jersey, Orange County, CA, Philadelphia, Portland, OR, Phoenix, Raleigh, NC, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. If you're determined to drive yourself to the polls, but don't have a car, Zipcar is offering members an alternative: a free rental. The service will make more than 7,000 cars available for free between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday. During that time, members of the service can reserve a free car through the company's app or website. Maven -- the ride-sharing business from General Motors -- will offer riders $5 off all day, a spokesperson tells The Detroit Free press.

10 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. Free Rides! by ADRA · · Score: 2

    But since you're black, the drivers won't pick you up anyway (runs from the room screeming)!

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    Bye!
    1. Re:Free Rides! by smooth+wombat · · Score: 2

      Drivers? I thought these people were simply sharing rides.

      You mean Uber and Lyft are cab companies because you're contacting them to have one of their drivers come pick you up to take you to the destination of your choice, independent from where the driver was going? Unpossible!

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      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    2. Re: Free Rides! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Horseshit, it's a taxi service, look it up in a dictionary. You're not sharing anything, they call you, you show up, they get in, you drive them where they want to go, they pay you. Taxi.

  2. Who gets the discounts? by penguinoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Select users will receive 45% off their Election Day trip to the polls

    The ones in the demographics likely to vote for the right candidate?

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    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  3. Biased choice of cities? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is it me, or does that list look like highly Democratic leaning cities? This smells more of a get out the Democrat vote effort than any sort of noble cause to just increase voter turnout overall.

  4. Bias by manu0601 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let me guess: the eligible areas have been selected because a higher voter turnout there favors a given candidate over the other one?

    1. Re:Bias by h33t+l4x0r · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If there was a liberal agenda, the areas would be swing state inner cities, not places that are already locked-in. This is maybe just good PR.

  5. This is a blatant violation of federal law. by Whatsisname · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When will see the gypsy cab companies' leadership go to prison for breaking the law, including 18 U.S. Code 597:

    Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and

    Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—

    Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

    I'm pretty sure this activity is a blatant violation of this law, but it's not like we'll ever see it enforced because APPS.

    1. Re:This is a blatant violation of federal law. by demonlapin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Given that there are all manner of free "go vote" shuttles provided every election season, I'm pretty sure that giving someone a ride straight to or from the polling place isn't a violation of that law.

  6. Number 1 search by rtb61 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let me guess the number one map search will be, the location of polling stations relative to where they actually want to go ;D.

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    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen