White House Announces Partnership with Uber and Lyft: Free Rides to Vaccination Sites
The White House announced its partnership with Uber and Lyft that will give further access to vaccination sites. The said partnership will allow the ride-sharing companies to offer free rides to Americans who wish to be inoculated in any vaccination sites near them.
Mail Online reported that the partnership between the Biden administration and the ride-sharing companies marked the latest effort of the White House to increase the accessibility to the vaccine shots and meet President Joe Biden's goal to ensure at least 70 percent of American adults inoculated with at least one dose of vaccine.
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White House, Uber, and Lyft Partnership
White House shared at least 80,000 vaccination sites with the ride-sharing companies. Uber and Lyft will offer free rides to and from the vaccination sites through July 4.
Uber did not immediately provide details on how the rides would operate in their app, CNBC reported. Lyft, on the other hand, announced that there will be a "ride code" available on their website or app by May 24. Meanwhile, according to Mail Online, users can select a vaccination site near them then click on an option to redeem the free ride.
"Vaccine is the key to getting us all moving again," said John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft. He added that they are proud to do their part in moving the "country forward." Zimmer furthered that more vaccinated Americans also help the Lyft community of drivers and riders.
Meanwhile, Uber CEO Khosrowshahi also expressed that they are "honored" to continue their previous global commitments as they forge a partnership with White House and Lyft.
CNBC noted that both companies have already partnered with other businesses to expand access to transportation when going to vaccination sites. However, the recent announcement of the partnership introduced a formal collaboration with the federal government.
President Biden Meets With State Governors
USA Today reported that Biden announced the partnership between the ride-sharing apps and the White House in a virtual meeting with a bipartisan group of governors on a Tuesday afternoon. Apart from the collaboration with Uber and Lyft, the president also revealed new funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency intended for community outreach efforts in encouraging Americans to get vaccinated.
Biden also praised the efforts of the state governors with their innovations to boost vaccine uptake. Some of the programs that the governors shared were "mobile vaccination clinics and incentives like tickets to minor league baseball games. USA Today noted that more than 58 percent of American adults and 46 percent of the population had received at least one shot of the vaccine, USA Today noted. The outlet furthered that 35 percent of the country is already fully vaccinated.
Biden's meeting with the state governors comes a week after he set a goal of putting one vaccine dose on the 70 percent of adult Americans by Independence Day.
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WATCH: Uber to provide rides to support vaccinations - from AP Archive