Get ready for a free ride — to the ballot box.
Long Beach Transit, which has a service area of more than 100 square miles across 14 cities in Orange and Los Angeles counties, will once again offer complimentary rides on election day to encourage folks to vote, according to an announcement from the agency earlier this week.
While Los Angeles County’s Vote Centers will open for the statewide primary on Saturday, Feb. 24, Long Beach Transit will only offer the complimentary service on election day, Tuesday, March 5. The LA County registrar’s office will open 119 Vote Centers on Saturday, with the rest opening on March 2. There will be 644 regional Vote Centers open on election day.
Besides Long Beach, LBT’s service area includes Carson, Lakewood, Paramount, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Los Alamitos, Norwalk and Seal Beach.
The free rides will be for LBT’s fixed-route bus service and its Dial-A-Lift, a paratransit service for those with mobility limitations, according to a press release.
LBT has offered the complimentary service on primary and general election days since 2018, according to spokesperson Arantxa Chavarria. Other public transportation agencies, such as LA Metro, also typically offer free rides on election day as a way to reduce barriers to voting.
Typically, Chavarria, election day ridership is the same as a regular Tuesday, about 29,000 boardings.
But the point isn’t about increasing ridership — but about helping get folks to Vote Centers.
“By catering to our customers’ needs,” LBT President and CEO Kenneth A. McDonald said in a statement, “LBT aims to create a more equitable and accessible voting experience for all.”
For more information, go to ridelbt.com.