Zipcar offering free car rentals for Election Day

Ahead of the presidential election, Zipcar announced that it will make more than 7,000 cars across the US free to members on Nov. 8.

Select vehicles will be available nationwide in cities and college campuses at no cost between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday. In an effort to #DriveTheVote, the car-sharing network is now taking reservations for those four evening hours, and encourages members to carpool with family, friends, and neighbors to the polls.

"At Zipcar, we know our community of Zipsters are actively engaged in civic affairs and passionate about issues, but may also need quick and easy access to transportation in order to vote. We decided to do our part to #DriveTheVote by making cars free," Andrew Daley, vice president of marketing, said in a statement.

Qualifying vehicles include cars from Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

The company caters to a number of Generation Z and millennial drivers, so its promotion includes more than 500 college and university campuses. The goal, a spokeswoman told PCMag, is to ensure members have access to their polling places at the last minute; the free offering extends past polls closing so folks waiting in line to vote don't have to worry about paying for their Zipcar.

"Regardless of political affiliation or sentiment, we believe that voting is a civic duty, and we want to ensure that access to transportation isn't a barrier to casting a ballot," Daley said.

To take advantage of a free vehicle, current and prospective members can go online via the Web or a mobile app to reserve a car during the designated hours.

Zipcar asks members to be considerate and only request a gratis vehicle for the purpose of participating in Election Day.

Ride-hailing app Uber, meanwhile, has teamed up with Google to provide passengers with their exact polling place information and the ability to quickly request a lift there—but not for free.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.