Lyft pushes shared rides with redesigned app

Lyft is looking at re-emphasizing how its customers use its ride-hailing app by redesigning the app itself.

On Thursday, Lyft rolled out a new version of its app, which is its first redesign in nearly three years. Among the changes to the app are a cleaner look to its ride options, and a re-branding of its carpool feature that will now be called Shared Rides.

When a rider starts to book a Lyft ride, the app will ask the customer to choose between a solo or a shared ride. Fares for both types of rides will be shown so the customer will know the price difference between the ride options. Lyft has said this is part of its efforts to encourage more actual ride-sharing in order to cut down on automotive emissions.

The company has set a goal of having 50 percent of its rides being shared ones by 2020.

Lyft has also integrated the app with the public transit systems of 25 U.S. cities and counties, which will give riders information about options such as buses and subways they can use as part of their commutes. For example, the Lyft app can now suggest where riders can get on a bus, and then catch a Lyft ride to complete their journey.

The new app comes with an option to request ride pickups on side streets instead of busy main roads, which the company said is aimed at reducing traffic on busier city streets. Lyft said the changes to its app will be fully available to all of its customers by the end of July.