Throughout early voting and on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Tarrant County voters will be able to catch free rides to the polls on Trinity Metro and other transit providers, the county said in a news release.
Riders can show their voter registration card or current Texas ID and ride for free during early voting Oct. 13-30 and on Election Day, Nov. 3.
In a related announcement, Alto, a Dallas-based rideshare and delivery company, has announced it will provide rides to election polls throughout its Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston coverage area on Election Day, Nov. 3. Voters with an Alto account can access two rides, up to $15 each, by entering promo code VOTE2020 into the Alto app.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court approved a partnership with transportation services in Tarrant County to pay for customer trips to voting locations, with an amount not to exceed $20,000.
“We are trying to give every eligible voter in Tarrant County the ability to vote in the November 2020 election,” said Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley. “We are offering free rides on as many public transit providers as possible, including accessible services for the elderly and mobility-impaired as well as on-demand service in Arlington and Fort Worth. These rides will be available during early voting and on Election Day.”
Wayne Gensler, vice president and chief operating officer for bus and paratransit at Trinity Metro, said he is pleased for the opportunity this partnership provides.
“Voting is an important right and we want to do our part to help voters get to the polls,” Gensler said. “We appreciate the Tarrant County Commissioners Court for funding this initiative.”
The transit services included in the program are Trinity Metro’s bus routes, Near Southside ZIPZONE, Crowley ZIPZONE, Mercantile ZIPZONE, ACCESS paratransit, plus Tarrant County Transportation Services (TCTS), Northeast Transportation Services (NETS), and Arlington’s Via and Handitran. For ZIPZONE riders in Crowley and Near Southside, free rides will be determined by the pickup’s or destination’s proximity to a voting location.
Tarrant County has multiple locations for early voting:
http://bit.ly/TarrantEarly
List of locations for Election Day:
http://bit.ly/TarrantElectionDay
Visit the list of polling places served by Trinity Metro:
http://bit.ly/TrinityMetroElection
Those who qualify and want to ride to vote on ACCESS, TCTS, NETS or Handitran should call the provider at least 48 hours ahead of the trip to schedule their free ride to any of the voting locations.
To use Via’s on-demand service in Arlington, riders simply download Via’s app and enter the address of a Vote Center within Via’s service area or call (817) 784-7382 to schedule a ride by phone. The rider will not be charged for trips scheduled to or from a Vote Center location.
For questions about Trinity Metro’s services, call (817) 215-8600.
For those wishing to travel to the polls via Alto, the company said voters can feel confident and safe while traveling to the polls via Alto.
Alto’s owned and managed fleet vehicles are leading the rideshare industry in new health and safety precautions during COVID-19. All Alto drivers wear masks and gloves during every trip, the company said.
Each Alto vehicle also has a HEPA cabin air filter which removes 99.9% of airborne particles and all Alto vehicle interiors have been treated with PermaSafe, an EPA-registered hospital-grade sanitizing mist that kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including emerging pathogens like COVID-19.
“Alto is proud to mobilize voters on this important day,” said Will Coleman, Founder and CEO of Alto. “We hope that this small act of providing complimentary rides to local polling centers will encourage North Texans to get out and exercise their right to vote.”
For more information about Alto, visit: www.ridealto.com
The Alto app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.
