At Lyft, we’re always working to expand access to affordable and reliable transportation. During the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve seen how that goal is more important than ever before. From providing crucial transportation services to essential workers to working to provide drivers with equipment to keep themselves and riders healthy, we are proud of our response to the pandemic.

Over the past few months, we are grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with county governments across the country on this important work. These counties play a critical role in addressing the needs of their citizens, supporting local priorities and making every community a better place. Particularly during a health emergency, counties often provide services that can be life-saving for their most vulnerable residents. I’d like to highlight two of these opportunities where we are especially proud of how Lyft and county leadership helped make a difference. Both of these private-public partnerships stand as examples of how Lyft can come together with county officials to solve transportation challenges in our communities.

In May, Lyft partnered with the Cook County State’s Attorney Office (CCSAO) in Illinois on an initiative to provide transportation for domestic violence survivors in the county. With domestic violence incidents tragically increasing during the COVID-19 crisis, we wanted to make sure survivors had affordable and convenient access to transportation to and from county courthouses. We’re thankful to the CCSAO for giving us an opportunity to help provide access to what are often life-saving services, and to the Lyft drivers who provided these rides for people in need.

In New Jersey, we launched a pilot program with Essex County to deliver emergency food boxes to homebound senior citizens – part of our Essential Deliveries program that provides drivers with opportunities to earn while supporting their community. With vulnerable residents sheltering in place to stay safe during the crisis, many are not able to access the county’s food distribution events, and these deliveries became especially important. Thanks to the work of county officials, teams of Lyft drivers were able to make these food deliveries alongside the county’s existing bus shipments. We launched the partnership with 50 boxes delivered on May 28th, and it has since remained a continued success.

Both of these partnerships are part of our broader LyftUp effort, Lyft’s comprehensive initiative to support communities across the country during this difficult time.  In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Lyft has activated more than 500 LyftUp partners – including public health entities, local governments, nonprofits and community organizations – to provide free ride credits and free delivery of essential goods for vulnerable communities and critical workers. County governments have been helpful and effective partners in this initiative and in many more, and we look forward to continuing to work with them throughout this crisis and beyond to help the people we serve.