Fort Worth volunteers and regional transit partners are mobilizing to ensure every eligible voter can get to a polling place. Starting Monday, free rides will be available throughout early voting (Oct. 19‑30) and on Election Day, Nov. 3, for voters traveling to any Tarrant County voting site.
Local churches and nonprofits lead the effort
Fort Worth resident Ken Shimamoto, a longtime community organizer, said his team is coordinating rides with churches such as New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church (2864 Mississippi Ave., Morningside). “We’ve got people power and that’s powerful,” Shimamoto told the Fort Worth Report. “We’re going to get people to the polls. There will be plenty of folks driving people.”
Two advocacy groups, Mothers of Murdered Angels and Black Voters Matter, recently held an education rally on Historic Southside (1205 E. Rosedale St.) and rolled a car caravan and bus through the neighborhood to publicize the ride program.
Additional partners join the transportation network
The Fort Worth Community Collaborative is also recruiting volunteers to drive voters. Shimamoto noted that two groups plan to shuttle University of Texas at Arlington students to voting sites after the Mavericks Activity Center was removed from the list of polling locations, despite an appeal from the Arlington City Council.
Another initiative will ferry residents living near Las Vegas Trail—about six miles south of the nearest polling place in Benbrook—to that site, ensuring they are not disenfranchised by the recent reduction in polling locations.
League of Women Voters and Trinity Metro provide resources
Janet Mattern, president of the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County, said the organization is distributing information about the ride programs and other voting resources. “Our role is education,” she said. “We provide voters with resources that they can access as well. We think everyone should be able to vote.”
Trinity Metro’s “Let’s Ride to Vote” campaign adds a public‑transport dimension. President and CEO Rich Andreski said, “Connecting people to the places that matter in their lives is what we do every day. Let’s Ride to Vote is another way we can make those connections easier for our customers. Voting is your choice. Getting there is on us.”
Riders can use any Trinity Metro service—buses, on‑demand rideshare, TEXRail, or the Trinity Railway Express—to travel to a Tarrant County polling place. To receive a free ride, passengers should inform the driver or train conductor of their destination. GoPass customers may apply promo code VOTE26 for a complimentary day pass, available at the customer kiosk in Fort Worth Central Station (1001 Jones St.). Trinity Metro Bikes users can also enter the same code in the bike app.
How to access the free‑ride program
Anyone needing transportation should contact the organizing groups or simply request a ride when boarding a Trinity Metro vehicle. Additional information and a list of resources are posted on RideTrinityMetro.org/vote26 and VOTE411.org.
These coordinated efforts come after a state district judge denied a request to reinstate 92 polling locations that had been cut from the Tarrant County Commissioners Court’s list—a reduction that community leaders say disproportionately affects Black and Latino voters. By providing free transportation, local volunteers aim to mitigate the impact of the downsizing and uphold the right of every resident to cast a ballot.
Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.
