Lyft, the San Francisco-based ridesharing company that is offered in 640 cities in the United States and 9 cities in Canada, is expanding its philanthropic initiative, the Grocery Access Program, to Baltimore and New York City.
The company partnered up with local non-profits, healthcare providers, community partners, grocery stores and farmers markets in the two cities in order to offer discounted Lyft rides to and from area grocery providers and farmers markets.
Residents of certain low-income areas considered to be food deserts (more than 10 miles from a supermarket) can get a $2.50 flat fee ride for a total of eight rides per month.
The company’s goal is to make healthy food more widely available to those with limited or no access to reliable transportation to grocery stores. Lyft absorbs any addition cost up to $16.
The program was first piloted in Washington DC, closely followed by an expansion to Atlanta. It started offering services in Philadelphia on September 1 and with the addition of Baltimore and NYC, can be found in 13 cities, with more expected to follow.
Lyft is the second-largest ridesharing company in the U.S. with a 28 percent market share after Uber.