NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- If you live in Nashville and don’t have a car, you’re pretty much stuck. Metro sprawls over more than 500 square miles, public transportation is limited, and many neighborhoods don’t even have sidewalks.
United Way of Metropolitan Nashville operates a 2-1-1 phone service that connects the city’s residents with needed services, including transportation, but the group says it can’t find rides for about two out of every ten requests for help.
So United Way is partnering with the on-demand ride service Lyft to provide free rides. United Ways’ Sarah Fleming says the partnership is focused on three groups.
“We are specifically focused on people getting to and from medical appointments, people going to pre-employment (job) interviews, and people who need to connect to veterans’ services.”
Lyft is providing the rides without charge. But the organization’s contract drivers are paid. Lyft is chipping in $1.5 million to cover the costs.
Lyft Mid-South General Manager Sam Nadler says the company was looking for a partner who could match the right need with their drivers. He says they found that partner in the United Way.
“The people who dispatch these rides are really trained to identify what transportation platform is best for this use.”
Lyft and United Way say the free rides program is in a test phase. They’ll decide over the next couple of months whether or not to make it permanent.
Nadler says Lyft has similar partnerships in a number of Metro areas, including Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, among others.