Three oppportunities for free rides to a vaccine appointment if you lack personal transportation:
1. Free or discounted rides for AAPI
The National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) has announced that in partnership with Lyft, they will provide access to free or discounted rides for Asian American Pacific Islander older adults throughout the country to get to and from vaccination sites. This is made possible in part through support from fellow Lyft partner, Chase. The collaboration is part of Lyft’s Universal Vaccine Access campaign, which is mobilizing a coalition of partners to provide access to rides to and from vaccination sites across the country.
“Our partnership with Lyft allows for a collaborative solution to support our most vulnerable community members,” said Joon Bang, President & CEO, NAPCA. “COVID-19 has amplified transportation insecurity and with the continued increase in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, our initiative seeks to prioritize safety and transportation access for Asian American and Pacific Islander older adults. We’re thankful for all of the teams at Lyft and Chase for standing with our community and working with us to help put our elders first.”
“Access to reliable transportation represents a major barrier to care for millions of Americans across the country, especially for vulnerable communities” said Heather Foster, Head of National Policy Engagement, Lyft. “The strength of all of our partners, including the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA), combined with our ability to address transportation barriers enables us to support equitable vaccine access to those who need it most.”
Individuals in need of transportation access from the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) can email admin@napca.org or call 1-800-336-2722 (English), 1-800-582-4218 (廣東話/Cantonese), 1-800-683-7427 (普通话/Mandarin), 1-800-582-4259 (한국어/Korean), and 1-800-582-4336 (Tiếng Việt/Vietnamese) or visit www.napca.org for more support. To learn more about how Lyft is helping people book vaccine rides for themselves or a loved one, or to fund a ride for someone in need, please visit the Lyft website.
2. Free rides from South LA
Free Community Build, Inc., is the lead agency of the Community Response System of South Los Angeles (CRSSLA) is a collaboration of key community-based organizations, churches, educational institutions and other stakeholders in South Los Angeles. They have partnered with Lyft to help those who want the COVID-19 vaccination, but do not have transportation to get to the appointments.
VaccineRydes.com provides a free Lyft promo code that can be applied to your personal Lyft account. This Promo code should be used to help take you, and or a family member to a COVID-19 vaccination site.
Individuals who have questions, or need further assistance scheduling a ride to a vaccination site can call our Support Team directly at 1-(877) VAC-RYDE (822-7933)
3. Free rides to USC's vaccine location from South LA
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced in a statement that the rideshare company Uber plans to contribute approximately $500,000 worth of free rides for South Los Angeles residents the vaccination site that opened in March at USC. The partnership between Uber and the city will give South L.A. residents access to 15,000 free Uber rides and 20,000 rides at a 50% discounted rate to get to the new site, according to Garcetti. Vaccine appointments at city-operated sites can be made online or by calling 833-540-0473.
The site comprises all seven levels of USC’s Flower St. parking garage to accommodate drive-up, walk-up and patients who need additional access to service, according to the statement. It has the capacity to vaccinate approximately 5,000 people a day, making it the second largest vaccination site operated by the city.
The initiative follows Uber’s pledge on Twitter from December to give 10 million free and discounted rides for vaccine distribution equity and to eliminate transportation as a barrier. Uber has also teamed up with Walgreens and Moderna to provide rides for residents in underserved areas.
4. Reminder that public transportation is still running and regularly disinfects its buses and trains!
Relatedly, starting on April 20th, Metrolink is setting up mobile vaccination sites from 10am to 7pm Tuesday through Saturday at their Palmdale and Lancaster stations. Walk-ups are available or you may pre-registerat RemediaCare.