SALISBURY — Salisbury Transit announced on Wednesday that the city would be offering free rides on Election Day to everyone during regular bus service hours.

The bus hours will run from 6 a.m. to 7:10 p.m. on Nov. 5, and Transit Director Rodney Harrison said that the offer of free rides will be given to anyone, regardless of whether they are going to a polling location. 

Salisbury has at least eight different polling places throughout the city, and multiple other county polling locations that include areas within the city limits as well. The bus routes also include stops in Spencer and East Spencer, which adds a few more potential polling locations for riders.

Many of those polling locations do not align perfectly with the bus routes and stops. For example, the closest stop to Isenberg Elementary School, the polling location for the Milford Hills City precinct, is the intersection of Jake Alexander Boulevard North and Statesville Boulevard while the closest stop to the City Park Recreation Building, the location for the North Ward precinct, is at the intersection of North Main Street and West Henderson Street.

Because of those discrepancies, Harrison said the transit department decided that it would be better to simply offer free rides to everyone rather than attempting to determine whether or not someone is heading to vote.

The city has offered free rides on Election Day during previous elections, including the most recent presidential election in 2020. Harrison said that the day has historically seen an uptick in ridership, with the 2020 election bringing an approximately 13 percent increase. He said that those numbers are expected to be sustained, especially as they move further away from the COVID pandemic.