Ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber are working to make public transit more accessible to allow riders to enjoy a car-free lifestyle. The two companies have been major innovators and disruptors in the transportation industry in the relatively short time they have been in business. These more recent efforts to include multimodal transportation options and transit connectivity help to support their mission of improving people’s lives with access to better transportation options than depending on single occupancy vehicles.
Lyft has made transit a priority by integrating transit options into their mobile app in 2018. Lyft’s integration of public transit in its app, called “Nearby Transit” which it is slowly rolling out city by city, does not have a direct financial benefit for the company, but is an essential part of moving people away from driving in their own cars. The most recent city to see the “Nearby Transit” feature added to the Lyft app is Denver’s RTD system.
“Lyft is committed to providing holistic options that offer sustainable solutions and help reduce congestion on Denver’s roads,” said Gabe Cohen, general manager of Lyft Rockies Region.
Bikes and scooters are also part of Lyft’s multimodal model. The company acquired a bike-share network company, Motivate, in July of 2018 to add to their multimodal options. It rolled out its first shared scooters in September 2018.
Recently Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has entered into a partnership with Uber to run a pilot program that will provide North Texas riders more transportation options. The program works by allowing customers to book Uber Pool (shared rides) through DART’s GoPass, all-in-one travel tool, in each GoLink zone in the agency’s service area. The cost to riders is $1 for traveling to or from a DART station or transit center or $3 to travel to any destination within a zone.