Voters in Salford can get free bike rides to their local polling station on Thursday, May 7. Lime, the provider of the popular electronic bikes and scooters, is giving two free minute rides in the city on Thursday next week to help residents hand in their ballots.

The offer is part of the ‘Give an X’ campaign by My Life My Say, which is trying to get every young person involved in voting. The aim is to combat common barriers to voting, such as the cost of public transport or lack of car ownership.

Local elections have notoriously low voter turnout compared to national elections.  Turnout for the council elections averaged around 25per cent, compared to around 40pc for the general election in the same year.

According to research conducted by My Life My Say, a youth-led campaign group trying to get youngsters more involved in democracy, the figures are particularly low among 18-25 year-olds. The campaign group has given a ‘massive push’ to get young people to register to vote before April 20th.

Now the group has partnered with Lime to help voters hand in their ballots. On Election Day, both new and existing riders will be able to redeem two free 15-minute rides using the promotional code: VOTEUK2026.

Alice Pleasant, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Lime, said: “We want to make it that bit easier for people to get to the polling station on 7 May. Local elections shape the things people deal with every day, and something as simple as getting there shouldn’t be a barrier. If a free ride helps a few more people show up and have their say, that’s a good thing.”

Lime offered a similar scheme in 2024 to help youngsters get to the polls.