Tens of millions of people rely on Lyft to get them where they need to go. But it’s not just everyday rides that make a difference. Transportation becomes critical in times of acute need like during a natural disaster or crisis.

In those instances, Lyft can be an essential lifeline. After hurricanes affected Texas and Florida, Lyft offered free rides to shelters and hospitals. We also provided transportation to first responders, such as Team Rubicon, working with recovery efforts. When wildfires struck both Northern and Southern California in late 2017, Lyft provided rides to evacuation centers. After the tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas, Lyft offered rides to blood donation centers. And we recently announced that we’ll be using Facebook’s Community Help crisis response tool to amplify these efforts.

But people need help beyond times of crisis as well. There are those with acute transportation needs every single day.

That’s why we’re expanding our Wheels for All program and committing $1.5 million to the program over the next year. We’ll continue to respond to natural disasters and other crises while extending our reach others in need — including returning veterans, low-income individuals in need of transportation to job interviews or medical appointments, and more. Working with strong local and national partners, we’ll expand these partnerships to support a diverse array of people, depending on the needs of each local community.

Lyft’s mission is to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. As we become an even larger part of the communities we serve — we now operate in 95% of the US and parts of Canada — we’re energized by the ability to further deliver on this mission.

*Wheels for All was previously called Lyft Relief Rides.