Ride-requesting service Lyft is offering new services and features in an effort to better appeal to consumers and attract more drivers. Lyft is the primary rival of Uber in the United States.
These new services primarily consist of Lyft partnering with outside companies in order to offer these new features and perks to its drivers. One of the main initiatives is a partnership with car rental service Hertz that will allow customers to rent cars on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
Lyft will also be introducing a new feature called Express Pay that will let Lyft drivers immediately deposit their earnings to their bank accounts as soon as they earn a minimum of $50 from their fares. The feature is a joint effort between Lyft and the payments processing company Stripe.
Lyft will also be working with oil company Shell to give their drivers discounts on gasoline.
These new services represent a clear effort by Lyft to better compete with its rival Uber, which is known for offering many perks to its drivers.
Uber is currently valued at $51 billion globally, while Lyft only stands at $2.5 billion.
Lyft recently agreed to a partnership with Didi Kuaidi, the largest ride-requesting service in China.
Lyft has also joined forces with insurance company Allstate in order to offer roadside assistance to its drivers.
Starbucks has also started working with Lyft, as drivers for Lyft will receive discounts on coffee.
Lyft has stated that these new features are being released in phases, and they should all be available by early next year.
Lyft was founded in San Francisco in 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer. It currently operates in 65 cities in the United States, and the company has plans to expand both domestically and internationally.
Meanwhile, Uber has faced troubles internationally, as many countries have banned or placed restrictions on their services.
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