Uber free rides for people living with disabilities will be available on August 8th.
Uber Kenya has partnered with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to provide transport services to persons living with disabilities (PLWD) during the August 8th elections.
This group will be transported to their respective polling stations and these rides will be offered free of charge.
The electoral body will provide a list of 700 persons who live in Nairobi, Thika, and Mombasa. Of these, 500 will apply to Nairobi and Thika while the remaining 200 will benefit those in Mombasa.
Uber, says that it will provide a special code with two free rides to and from the polling stations for all persons with disabilities registered with the IEBC in Nairobi, Thika, and Mombasa
That’s not all:
The taxi hailing company will also give all Uber riders a Ksh. 200 discount to and from the polling stations in cities that they have established operations.
To enjoy the offer, all Uber riders will be required to go to the promotions tab in the app and key in the promotion code VOTEKE2017.
This offer is valid on Tuesday 8th between 6.00am and 6.00pm.
The general manager for Uber East Africa Loic Amado said that the move is aimed at encouraging riders and driver partners to participate in the voting process.
Loic was quoted saying that the company hopes to bring the ‘ballot closer to riders’ in the three towns and that Uber’s ease of service would help the situation.
The taxi hailing company has gone a step further by setting up an in-app notification that will remind citizens to vote. This will include a link to the IEBC site meant to help them locate their polling stations.
The Uber Kenya-IEBC partnership also encourages driver partners to distribute voting educational materials to riders.
Uber Free Rides Not a New Thing
This is not the first time that Uber is extending offers to its users during elections; the taxi firm has in the past offered free rides in the UK and South Africa.
In the UK, the taxi hailing company partnered with Whizz-Kidz to offer free rides to this group of users living in London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
In South Africa, the company offered an R30 discount off trips to and from the voting stations in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban & Port Elizabeth.
Voters in South Africa were required to key in the code “VOTESA” into the app’s promotional tab to activate the discount.