Indiana 211 Cost Free Lyft Rides

With the assistance and support of FSSA, Indiana 211 is doing a soft launch today with our new statewide (yes, this includes rural areas) Lyft program. This will offer COST FREE rides to and from substance use treatment and certified recovery support programs. If your organization or someone you may know is in need of a ride to or from treatment, please let me know. I would be happy to help provide that. Please keep in mind this is a soft launch and will be some of the first ever rides we have provided. The goal is to work out the kinks and get things rolling. If you are interested, please let me know if you plan to utilize this service so that I may monitor quality on our end.

Who is eligible for a ride through IN211?
Any individual who displays a current, past, or history substance use and is not insured by Medicaid or HIP is eligible for a ride. Again, these rides must be to or from substance use treatment or certified recovery support programs. If the individual is a juvenile (under the age of 18), they are required to have a guardian ride along. IN211 will also provide rides home for guardians and/or caregivers if requested.

How do I request a ride?
To request a ride, dial 2-1-1. Our automated system will ask callers to press 2 to continue in English or press 3 to continue in Spanish (For languages not listed in these options, please dial 2 and request a translator later in the call). Once the language has been selected the following message will be played, “If you are calling for information about substance use treatment or transportation to and from treatment please press 9.” At this point, the caller will press 9 and be directed to speak with a trained Lyft Community Navigator.

Can I request a ride on behalf of the client?
Yes. However, IN211 will require the following information: First and last name, pick-up and drop-off locations, and a phone number for drivers to communicate with passengers if they are unable to locate them.

Is the client’s information protected?
Lyft drivers will only have access to the first name of the passenger, and the pick-up and drop-off location. A phone number is provided to the driver, but it is a randomized and hidden number. Drivers lose access to all past rides once they are completed.

Please feel free to contact me with all questions relative to the program. For the time being, we are not marketing the program to the general public until we have time to test our processes. Once comfortable, we will go fully live with the project and advertise it.

As a side note, our current budget is $4,500 per month. Once that funding source is absorbed, we will be required to discontinue rides for the remainder of that month. We are hoping to find ways to subsidize that budget in the future.

https://in211.communityos.org/