Scoot to the polls for free on Election Day

Image: Chesnot/Getty Images

Get ready to scoot out the vote.

Or at least, that’s what Lime is hoping the voting public will do this upcoming Election Day. The bike- and scooter-share company is offering a promo code for users to snag a free bike, e-bike, or e-scooter ride to and from the polls. 

The code LIME2VOTE18 will go live on Nov. 6. Those who redeem it on the Lime mobile app will get 30 minutes free to ride on the vehicle of their choosing — that is, if Lime operates in your city. In between rides, you can vote in the midterm elections.

Lime said it’s also working with ElectionDay.org to give its employees time off work to vote and volunteer for campaigns.

Ride-hailing apps Uber and Lyft are also making sure voters can get to the polls. Uber will have a “Get to the polls” button on the app, while Lyft is offering discounted rides through voting advocacy groups.

Lime hopes to encourage use of its electric — and pedal-powered — vehicles with this promotion. This week they also announced electric cars. Through the Lime platform, you’ll be able to rent an electric car through an unspecified partner (Lime won’t be making its own electric cars).

At the J.D. Power Automotive Roundtable in Las Vegas this week, Lime co-founder Caen Contee said Lime’s adding yet another type of vehicle to its fleet. More details are forthcoming, but for now, “We’re bringing a platform for on-demand shared access to electric cars,” he said.

Lime e-scooter competitor Bird put out nationwide survey results Thursday that showed growing frustration with traffic and congestion — from cars. A quarter of those surveyed said they’d give up social media for a year to spend less time sitting in traffic.

Bird saw this as support for non-car transit options, like electric scooters. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they want more space on roads for bikes and scoters, and support increasing the number of bike lanes. Just over 70 percent of the 1,024 respondents said cities should make sure there are enough bikes and scooters to rent or use through an app. 

E-scooters aren’t the focus of the upcoming election, but they do offer an emission-free way to get to the polls.