MCDOT Announces Capital Bikeshare and Lyft Electric Scooters to Offer Free Trips for Essential Travel in Montgomery County and Around the Washington Region During the COVID-19 Health Crisis

For Immediate Release: Friday, April 3, 2020

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and its six Washington-area partner jurisdictions in Capital Bikeshare and Lyft Electric Scooter, which operates in Montgomery and the District of Columbia, have unveiled special programs that will provide free rides to essential employees during the COVID-19 health crisis.

The temporary programs are designed to support workers in fields such as the healthcare industry and in businesses recognized as essential by their respective jurisdictions, such as grocery stores and pharmacies.

The seven members of the Capital Bikeshare program, in addition to Montgomery County, are the District of Columbia, Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, the City of Falls Church, Fairfax County and Prince George’s County.

Capital Bikeshare will be offering free 30-day memberships and $1 Single Trips for essential workers. Employers in those jurisdictions should email [email protected] to enroll their staff members in the Bikeshare programs. In response to an email inquiry, employers will receive instructions and a sign-up code that they can share with their employees. Free rides will be available immediately upon enrollment.

Through May 1, employers can enroll their essential workers for unlimited 30-minute Bikeshare trips for 30 days. There is no cost to enroll and the free memberships will not auto-renew into paid memberships. Essential workers also can enroll directly by emailing [email protected].

Lyft Electric Scooters will be providing 30-day free memberships in Montgomery County and the District of Columbia, where it operates shared e-scooter programs.

Essential employees who are Montgomery County residents, and essential workers who live outside the County, but work in Montgomery, can enroll for a free 30-day Capital Bikeshare membership or a free 30-day combined membership that includes Capital Bikeshare and Lyft electric scooters. 

In addition, through May 31, any user of Capital Bikeshare can purchase $1 Single Trips for essential travel.

Should the public health crisis continue beyond May 31, the Capital Bikeshare program will evaluate ongoing needs and options for continued support.

Download the Capital Bikeshare mobile app at www.capitalbikeshare.com/how-it-works/get-the-app.

In support of the safety measures recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health departments, Capital Bikeshare has implemented an enhanced cleaning protocol to protect riders. Rebalancers are cleaning every bike at the stations they visit, focusing on high traffic stations. Those teams disinfect all high contact surfaces of bikes. High contact surfaces on vans used to transport bikes also are being disinfected at the start of each shift. Associates are wearing gloves when handling bikes.

For the most up-to-date local transportation information, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, visit MCDOT’s transportation resource page for COVID-19, or subscribe to MCDOT news releases.

For the latest Montgomery County updates during the health crisis, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.

Release ID: 20-074
Media Contact: Hannah Henn 240-777-8389