A new public-private partnership for Boston’s senior citizens will allow them to get up to five free rides with the Lyft ride share service over the winter months via a pilot program that is looking to fill in transportation gaps.

The program was announced last Friday at the Grove Hall Senior Center.

Representatives from the Urban League, the city’s AgeStrong Commission, and Lyft told a room full of seniors about the “free rides” that will come through the new Holistic Health Access Initiative (HHAI).

Open to all Boston senior citizens aged 60 and over, but focusing on Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury, the service allows seniors to get rides using the Lyft app or by calling AgeStrong to schedule a ride. 

Rides must be health-related, such as for doctors’ appointments, transportation to senior centers and pharmacies. Participants are restricted to five free “Healthy Rides” during the pilot program.

“Prices are so high and it’s difficult to get around to appointments to make sure we are healthy physically and mentally,” said Rahsaan Hall, president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. “We need to do everything we can to ease the burden and make the journey a little more pleasant…This is a pilot program and we’re hoping the word spreads, and more and more people take advantage of these rides, especially during the cold winter months.”

He said they don’t mean to compete with other services, such as the MBTA’s Ride program, the AgeStrong shuttle, or the taxi vouchers that many senior citizens already use. “There is enough need that we can create three more of these programs and still not capture everybody that needs to get a ride somewhere for free. This is additive,” he said.

AgeStrong director Emily Shea said the free rides are just another tool for seniors to use when they need to get around. Shea hopes the pilot is successful and can get permanent funding.

“We hear a lot about people not being able to get from place to place,” she said.

Lyft spokesman Brendan Joyce said that company drivers are vetted by a criminal background check before being hired, and they are re-checked every two years after to help ensure rider safety.

Dorothea Jones, a senior citizen and member of the Guild of the Urban League, said the rides can help seniors like herself achieve more freedom.
“Many of us have illnesses or concerns that you can’t see, and you have to go for physical therapy or other appointments,” she said. “Going to physical therapy without having to drive is very important. Going to the store without having to wait for a family member to get us when they can’t come immediately – that’s important. We so often have to go without until someone will come get us.”

Those who are tech savvy can go on the Lyft app and use the ‘Healthy Ride’ code given out by AgeStrong and schedule their own rides any time. Those not so adept can call the new AgeStrong concierge service at 617-635-3000 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays to schedule a Lyft ride by saying ‘Healthy Ride.’

Senior citizens are allowed to partner, or share a ride, with other seniors and use only one code, Joyce said. So, three seniors can book a ride together to the senior center or to a health center and use only one ride code.