HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — If you plan on voting Nov. 4, but don’t have a way to get to the polls, local transportation authorities have your back.
Both Hampton Roads Transit and Suffolk Transit are offering free rides that day so everyone can get to the polls and make their votes count.
“It really fosters the sense of connection to your community, an ability to be independent,” said Suffolk Transit Manager Maria Ptakowski.
Transportation is one of those things you don’t think about — until you don’t have it. That’s why Suffolk Transit and Hampton Roads Transit are offering free rides on election day.
“It does make a difference,” said Hampton Roads Transit Communications Manager Thomas Becher. “And so, what we want to do as the region’s transit leader is make sure no one is left behind [and] they have a way to get to the polling booth. Not everyone necessarily gets a ride, has a ride, can afford an Uber or something like that, so we want to make it free for everyone.”
According to the U.S. Census, an average of 2.4% of Americans said transportation was the main roadblock in not voting in the 2020 presidential election. And in 2016, a Harvard study cited transportation as a “major factor” as to why 14% of non-voters didn’t get to the polls.
“Public transit is there as a service to people, so the last thing we want to do is create something that makes it hard for people to be able to utilize the service,” Becher said.
It includes all routes, and all modes of transport.
“All of our routes in the six cities we serve, on our buses, the light rail, the ferry, and those already on paratransit, also get the free rides, and our on-demand ridesharing in Newport News and Virginia Beach also would be free on that day,” Becher said.
It also includes all ADA-compliant Paratransit vehicles.
“We do notice an uptick,” Becher said. “It’s one of four free fare days throughout the year, but we do see an uptick every time we do it, by anywhere from a few thousand to a few hundred,” Becher said.
Said Ptakowski: “It’s really important. Everybody should have the chance to go out and make their voice heard in being able to vote. So we want to make sure that transportation isn’t a barrier to that.”
For more information on Suffolk Transit routes, click here. To learn more about HRT routes, click here.
