The on-demand transportation company, Lyft has launched a scooter sharing service for its customers in Denver. The fleet will have all-electric scooters that can be rented on a time-based rental. This move from Lyft comes just at the time when their major competitor Uber is also set to launch its own scooters in California within a few weeks time.
Like the cabs, electric Scooters can also be found and booked through Lyft’s app. You will have to pay $1 to unlock a scooter and 15 cents a minute after that. To promote the use of public transports, Lyft will soon offer anyone riding its scooters a discount if they start or end their ride near public transit. The company is also adding a feature in its app to let commuters know when they’re near public transit stops.
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Though both Uber and Lyft are mainly in the cab and ridesharing business, both of them are seeing a big potential in the scooter business too. Uber recently acquired bike-sharing startup Jump and has been experimenting with the model in San Fransisco which is said to have given them a positive response.
“Scooters are a way to make daily trips more fun and encourage multimodal commuting,” Caroline Samponaro, who leads bike and scooter policy at Lyft, told CNN Money. Like Uber, Lyft has also started testing autonomous cab service in Las Vegas and has recently completed 5000 rides in self-driving cars.
To charge the electric scooters, Lyft will have specially trained full-time employees to make sure the scooters are well taken care of. “We think it’s important that as the bike and scooter industry grows that there are good job opportunities paralleling that,” Samponaro said.
Source: CNNMoney