A few weeks ago, Lyft unveiled its new plan to collaborate with Motivate to expand scooter and bike sharing on its platform. Within this rollout, Lyft stated, “Lyft and Motivate have both been committed for years to the same goal of reducing the need for personal car ownership by providing reliable and affordable ways to move around our cities.” A month later, Lyft has unveiled a plan to follow through on its promise to lower personal motor vehicle ownership,.
Lyft has announced a multi year partnership with Avis that will add thousands of cars to its already existing car rental program, “Express Drive”. As described on Lyft‘s website, “Express Drive offers a Lyft-exclusive weekly rate on cars rented from partners like Hertz and Flexdrive. Lyft matches drivers with passengers who request rides through our app. When you rent through Express Drive, you can offset weekly costs by giving Lyft rides.”
In a press release following the announcement, Lyft COO, Jon McNeill, wrote, “Our partnership with Avis Budget Group allows us to provide new and existing drivers who are seeking a reliable source of income with more quality options when choosing a vehicle.”
Lyft’s biggest competitor is also a fixture in the care rental space. Similarly, Uber offers its customers the option of weekly and daily car rentals through partnerships with Hertz, Getaround and Fair. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the two not only compete in the bike sharing market, but also how they compete in the car rental business.
