Portland voters will be able to ride a Biketown bike to the ballot box for free on Election Day.

Motivate, which operates the Biketown system in partnership with the city, said Portland is one of nine metro areas where it plans to make all rides free on Nov. 6.

"We want to make it easier than ever to pedal to the polls this Election Day," Julie Wood, Motivate's spokeswoman, said in a statement. "Too many Americans don't vote because they lack reliable and affordable transportation options. As voters make their plans for Nov. 6, we encourage the millions living in cities served by our bike share networks to take advantage of free rides and use bike share to get to and from the polls."

Oregon, of course, has vote-by-mail, but many voters still elect to drop off their ballots on Election Day.

The company cited a Tufts University study that found transportation was a "significant barrier" for young people who choose not to vote, regardless of their demographics or educational background.

Motivate is the largest bike rental company in the country and it runs the systems in Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, Boston, the Bay Area and Portland.

Users can use BIKE2VOTE in the Biketown app to receive 30 minutes of free ride time on Nov. 6.

Update: An earlier press release was inaccurate, so don't plan on a full day of free rides, it's just 30 minutes.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen