Lyft, GM expand car-rental deal into 3 markets, nipping at Uber
Lyft continued a flurry of news Monday with the extension of a program that could add hundreds of thousands of drivers to its ride-hailing service.
Lyft said it is expanding its short-term, car-rental service for drivers, Express Drive, to the San Francisco Bay Area, Denver and Los Angeles this year. It is currently available in Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and Washington.
Lyft President John Zimmer and General Motors President Dan Ammann made the announcement in connection with Fortune’s Brainstorm tech conference Monday in Aspen, Colo. In January, GM poured $500 million into Lyft to create an on-demand network of self-driving cars.
More than 130,000 people in the Bay Area, Denver and L.A. have applied to become Lyft drivers but did not have cars that qualified. Among the vehicles drivers can rent for free are the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and the extended-range electric 2016 Chevrolet Volt, Ammann said.
Expansion of Express Drive continues the recent growth of Lyft services nationwide. Last week, it launched Premier, a high-end car service, in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Los Angeles.
The San Francisco-based unicorn faces withering competition from Uber, flush with venture funding and a stratospheric market value of $61 billion. Lyft was valued at $5.5 billion last year.
Among vehicles drivers can use for free: 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2016 Chevrolet Volt