Carlos Jasso/Reuters
- Lyft and a company called Trafi are partnering to add additional
transportation methods like public transit to Lyft's in-app routing system. - Riders will be able to choose different combinations of transit - like taking a subway or bus before or after hopping in a Lyft vehicle.
- The move is meant to give Lyft users more flexible and affordable routes to their destinations.
- Riders in Santa Monica will receive the update first, but Lyft plans to roll the feature out to more cities in the future.
Sometimes that Lyft pricing can be just too much during peak hours, and the longer (but cheaper) subway or bus ride starts to look like a better option.
Lyft's newly-announced partnership with Trafi, a mobility services company, is meant to give riders a little more control over how they get to their final destination - which could result in a cheaper, albeit perhaps longer, ride. It's a move that's meant to eliminate the issues with what the industry calls the first- or last- mile of a trip, where there isn't always a transit option immediately available.
The partnership will bring public transit options in-app, which means riders can choose between different combinations of Lyft rides and 'Nearby Transit' like scooters, subways or buses, without having to leave the Lyft app. This is meant to allow passengers "to choose the most affordable and flexible trip that works for them," according to a press release from Trafi.
Lyft Lyft's 'Nearby Transit' feature will show users additional transportation methods, like public transit and scooters.
So if a Lyft rider doesn't live close enough to a subway station or bus stop, he or she could choose to use Lyft for half of the trip, then get dropped off at a public transit station to continue the rest of the trip, for example. Lyft's dockless scooters were just launched in Santa Monica, California, and they will be displayed as alternative transit options as well.
The Nearby Transit option is similar to the service offered by Citymapper, an app that pools together available transit options in a certain area and lets users sort through various combinations of transportation.
The feature will only be available in Santa Monica initially - but Lyft has plans to roll it out to additional cities in the future.
Coinciding with the Trafi partnership, Lyft announced the hiring of Lilly Shoup as Senior Director of Transportation Policy, where she will "continue to bring transportation planning and policy best practices to the forefront of Lyft's strategic efforts," Lyft said in a press release.