Free rides are available in most communities, including near you.
Get a free ride to work, an interview, the doctor or another place when lacking other forms of transportation. A number of charities, volunteer organizations, churches or even some government programs provide free, emergency rides to people in need. Many of those that use a service are very low-income households, seniors or the disabled who often do not have access to transportation or lack mobility. Find how to get a free ride in your area near you.
Transportation can be provided for a variety of needs. People who need a free ride to work, such as first day on the job or an interview, will often be able to get emergency assistance to help them gain that job or keep employment. Seniors, the disabled, the sick or homebound will often be able to get an emergency ride to the doctor, a pharmacy or hospital near them. There are also rides for people who are stranded or need transportation for some other type of emergency appointment.
Programs that provide free rides to work, a job interview or to get home
Free bus passes or tickets may be given away near you in an effort to help people get to work. A pass, gift card, token or some other voucher will in effect pay for that bus trip to work or an interview. A local charity (like the Salvation Army or community action) or a church may give them out. Government workforce centers may also provide free bus tickets too for someone that needs to get to an interview or first day or work. This for of help will tend to be more common in urban or suburban communities. Learn more on bus passes for low-income.
Work related gas cards can help cover a ride. A charity near you, such as the Salvation Army, may provide emergency gasoline vouchers to someone who needs to get to work or a job interview. The in effect free ride may be really any type of employment issue, even including someone starting a new job or if they are going through a financial hardship, such unexpected medical bills or a divorce. Read how to get free gas with no money.
Jobs Access from Lyft provides free rides to a job interview or limited transportation to training or work. The assistance program is run in partnership with the United Way, Goodwill, as well as the website Indeed. Other non-profits that are regional in nature will also partner on this service. The free rides to employment or job training near you are provided by the Lyft ride-share drivers. Read more here.
Free rides will often be arranged by volunteers at local charities. Note some may ask for a minimal “donation”, but if the person can’t afford it the ride is free. As many charities will only provide financial assistance at the same time as case management, which is long-term support. Finding, holding and maintaining a job are critical to long term self-sufficiency. This is why those transportation programs are offered by many local and national charities. Find a find a charity organization that help families in need.
Local workforce centers as well as community action agencies may provide free or heavily discounted rides. Both organizations are mostly funded by state and federal government programs. They focus on self-sufficiency, helping people that live in poverty and that have other barriers, and an employment or job training help overcome poverty. Locate community action transportation near you.
Some car pooling apps may provide rides to passengers for free, but the exact terms and pricing is from the driver. RideshareOnline (mostly west coat) and Caroster are two of the leading smartphone apps for iPhone and Google Play. If the driver on the apps is going to the same areas as the passenger, they may provide the ride at no cost.
Social service offices near you may provide free transportation for work or job training reasons. They can be part of a paratransit service, partnerships with the United Way or private bus/van companies, or social or human services may provide a voucher or gift card to pay for the entire ride or a large portion of it. DHS offices near you may also give free taxi rides, bus passes, or gas cards. Learn more on DHS social services near you.
Senior citizens will be able to get a free ride near them for a wide variety of needs. This can be to get to a grocery store, job, senior center, pharmacy, food pantry or other location. There will also be free local rides to help them get to see their family, such as grandkids or other family members. Find a free ride near you for senior citizens.
Goodwill Industries has a variety of Career Support programs. The goal is to help people gain economic self-sufficiency. As part of this objective, many Goodwill centers offer transportation assistance, including free rides, or bus passes to job seekers or people going on an interview. In addition, Goodwill will also work with local rideshare companies or volunteers to ensure job-seekers have some form of low-cost or free ride and details are here https://www.goodwill.org/how-we-work-with-you/.
National Volunteer Caregiving Network is a national (and worldwide) network of local volunteer groups. Most of the local affiliates/volunteers provide free rides, with around 500,000 senior citizens using the charity services each year. Learn more on free local rides from the Caregiving Network https://nvcnetwork.org/wp/index.php/program-map-2/.
Medical programs that give a ride for free
Several non-profits as well as government benefit programs, such as Medicaid, provide free rides in most states and local communities. These are for low-income families, seniors or the disabled that are on government benefits and/or that live in poverty. There will be transportation to a dialysis treatment, local clinic, pharmacy, urgent care centers and other destinations. These rides are generally offered as part of some state and federal government benefit programs.
Dialysis patients can get a free ride to a treatment center. The American Kidney Fund and National Foundation provide services to low-income families. Many state Medicaid benefit programs also pay for a kidney treatment ride (note the name Medicaid varies by state). Volunteer groups also offer support too. Get details on how to get free transportation to dialysis.
 Many state Medicaid programs provide free rides for patients. There are also transportation services as part of Medicare, including the Advantage plans. These will in particular help seniors, the disabled and households living in poverty. More on free rides are available for Medicaid. Find free rides to medical appointments near me.
Paratransit, or assisted transit, is for disabled people or the elderly with mobility issues. Some communities may provides these rides for free while others will charge a minimal fee, depending on the destination and length of travel. In some local communities paratransit will also give a ride to low-income families. Locate free rides for disabled.
NEMT is non-emergency transportation for medical appointments. The rides can be paid for by the state or federal government (including Medicaid program) or local non-profits. Some charities, including that may be near you, may also arrange this service and find details on rides from NEMT.
Both Uber and Lyft offer a variety of ways to get free rides, but they vary depending on your location, income and eligibility. The ride-share companies will help in the following ways.
- Uber often offers promo codes (in the app or on the website) to new or long-term users that give them a free ride or a discount on their first ride. Customers can also get free Uber rides by referring friends or family to the service. Uber has also partnered with a number of companies to offer free or discounted rides to their customers, such as credit card companies.
- Lyft also offers promo codes (on their website or app) to new users that give them a free ride or a discount. They also have a referral program (like Uber above). There is also Lyft Up, which gives free or discounted rides to people in need. There is the Jobs Program mentioned earlier, Grocery, and Healthcare programs that are part of the Lyft Up free ride program.
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