“Lyft said Thursday it will restart the option beginning July 19 in three markets — Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia.“
The following written content by Sara Ashley O’Brien
Shared rides were a key part of how the founders of Uber and Lyft envisioned disrupting transportation. Back in 2014, the companies raced each other to be first to announce their carpooling options, with the promise of creating a more efficient service that’s also more affordable for riders.
Then the pandemic hit, and the companies swiftly suspended their shared offerings to help curb the spread of Covid-19.
Roughly 16 months later, Lyft is now slowly bringing back a revamped shared rides option. But as it does, it must confront shifting public health concerns as well as financial risks that predated the pandemic. (When asked by CNN Business about its plans for shared rides in the US, an Uber spokesperson said the company will “explore re-launching Pool when the time is right and will follow the guidance of health experts.”)
Lyft said Thursday it will restart the option beginning July 19 in three markets — Chicago, Denver and Philadelphia. Riders will have three shared rides options, which will be tiered by wait time and have upfront pricing assigned to each: 15-30 minutes, 5-15 minutes, and less than 10 minutes. The longer the wait, the more discounted the ride.
“As the country reopens, we want our most affordable ride option to be available to our riders,” Lyft president and cofounder John Zimmer said in a statement.
Additionally, Lyft said it has added “no surprise pickups” labels on certain shared rides. Those routes will be fixed with no added stops while en route, a factor that will contribute to a more accurate estimated arrival time for riders, the company said.
The company said it determined which markets to reintroduce shared rides in based on rider demand and driver supply. It expects to eventually add the service to all of the nearly 20 markets where shared rides were offered pre-pandemic.
There are some new precautions in place: Lyft riders can only book a single seat (meaning no guests), front and middle seats must be unoccupied, and masks are required for riders and drivers, as with its regular service. Read more from Cable News.
