In honor of Veterans Day, Ride hailing companies Uber and Lyft are teaming up with the white house and Joining Forces to help make life a little easier for veterans experiencing homelessness.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that there are more than 49, 000 veterans experiencing homelessness on any given night. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that sixty-eight percent of these veterans reside in cities where a lack of reliable transportation makes it difficult to reach much-needed services and employment opportunities.
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Over the coming year, Uber will contribute an estimated 10, 000 rides — a value of $125, 000 — across five veterans organizations affiliated with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program to provide on-demand transportation to jobs, interviews, and other employment events.
Riders and drivers will also have an opportunity to participate in this meaningful effort. Tomorrow, in more than 150 cities nationwide, riders will be able to donate $5 towards a ride for a veteran experiencing homelessness.
Starting tomorrow, on Veteran’s Day, Uber users in 150 cities across the U.S. can donate $5 within the app by sliding over to the option marked “VET’S DAY.” Those who choose to donate this way will receive an SMS text message after, but will need to reply “Yes” back to Uber to complete the process.
Uber launched UberMILITARY a little over a year ago to train veterans to be Uber drivers. More than 40, 000 veterans have joined the driver platform since the launch of the initiative, according to Uber.
The top 100 UberMILITARY driver-partners will receive a free night’s stay at a Starwood hotel, such as Sheraton, Westin, W and more. Of these 100, the top 10 driver-partners will also receive 25k AAdvantage miles on American Airlines.
Lyft has no known military program, but this is not the first time Uber has made an effort to help our men and women in military service.
