Lyft Is Offering Free Rides to Cancer Patients in Major U.S. Cities. A great use from an APP to be followed by other countries.

Ride sharing giant Lyft is offering cancer patients free rides—or at least effectively free for riders—to and from their treatments in 10 major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Denver, St. Louis, and Atlanta.

The rides are part of an existing Lyft collaboration with the American Cancer Society (ACS), which will be covering the cost of the rides.

Access to care is a big problem in USA, therefore transportation programs and partnerships like the one we are launching with Lyft in Miami-Dade County are vital for these patients to get the treatments they need and deserve.”

Patients seeking the free rides can coordinate with the American Cancer Society by calling 800-227-2345 or visiting www.cancer.org. ACS will then use the Lyft Concierge service to arrange a ride.

However, those who want to use the service are encouraged to book the trips several days in advance, and reminded that it can only be used for cancer-related medical appointments.

The American Cancer Society partnership isn’t Lyft’s only foray into medical transportation. (Competitor Uber also has a number of similar initiatives.) Last May, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) teamed up with Lyft to help people in isolated areas covered by certain Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans get free rides to the hospital.

“Many Americans live in areas where medical care is beyond the reach of walking, biking or public transportation. As a result, they struggle to access critical health care services, even when they have health insurance,” said Dr. Trent Haywood, BCBSA chief medical officer and president of the BCBS Institute, in a statement at the time. “We are committed to addressing issues like transportation that are inextricably linked to health outcomes, yet can’t be tackled through health care resources alone.”