Lyft to Provide Free Rides to Veterans, Low-Income Individuals

Lyft announced today that it will be expanding its Relief Ride program and will be committing $1.5 million to the program during the next year.

In the past, the service was used during times of natural disasters, most recently during hurricane season and the California wildfires, to help residents evacuate and reach shelters and hospitals. After the Las Vegas shooting in October, Lyft gave free rides to blood donation centers.

Now, Relief Ride will also be made available to returning veterans and low-income persons who are in need of transportation to places such as job interviews or doctor’s appointments.

Lyft previously announced a partnership with the group No One Left Behind to provide interpreters who worked with U.S. military in the Middle East discounted transportation and support services as the drive for the ride-hailing company. The pilot program, launched in January, also provided interpreters in the U.S. on special immigrant visas access to Express Drive, a Lyft program that lets drivers earn free car rentals for driving a certain number of hours a week on the platform.

Similarly, Lyft partnered with Caritas of Austin to pilot a program that provided thousands of dollars in free rides to the charity’s clients to reach classes and doctor’s appointments.

Related: All Future Rides to Be Carbon Neutral, Lyft Says