An illuminated Lyft Inc. sign is seen on the dashboard of a ride share vehicle at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. Lyft Inc. has gained significant ground on its rival, Uber Technologies Inc., and is expected to grab more market share in the U.S., according to a private Lyft investor document obtained by Bloomberg. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Giving poor people free use of ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft for doctor appointments doesn’t make them any less likely to become no-shows than patients who have to find their own way there, a US study suggests.
At one time or another, up to half of low-income patients have missed or rescheduled medical appointments because of unreliable transportation, researchers note in JAMA Internal Medicine. One solution – a transportation service for poor people insured by Medicaid – doesn’t always fix the problem because people may have to book rides days in advance, wait a long time for rides to arrive, and then carpool on long, circuitous routes to the doctor.
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