Lyft and General Motors announced the expansion of their short-term rental program program to California and Colorado, including the all-new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV.
The program, called Express Drive, makes GM cars available to Lyft drivers along with insurance and maintenance. It currently operates in Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
Launching in San Francisco in the summer of 2016 and in Los Angeles by the fall, Express Drive’s California members will have access to vehicles from the largest electric vehicle fleet in ridesharing, including the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV (available late 2016) and the extended-range electric 2016 Chevrolet Volt.
Express Drive will also launch operations in Denver by the fall of 2016. Express Drive will also launch operations in Denver by the fall of 2016. In San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver combined, over 130,000 people who applied to become Lyft drivers but didn’t have qualifying cars will now have the opportunity to drive on the platform.
The expansion follows successful launches in Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C. and Baltimore. Since March, the Lyft-exclusive program has seen tremendous interest and adoption:
– 30% of new Lyft-driver applicants in Chicago have requested an Express Drive vehicle
– Boston’s program was fully subscribed in less than 4 days
– Nearly $2 million earned by Lyft drivers in the program to date
“Expanding Express Drive provides opportunities to hundreds of thousands of new potential Lyft drivers and continues to make car ownership optional for both drivers and passengers” said John Zimmer, Lyft’s president and co-founder. “We are also excited to be adding electric vehicles to Express Drive, which is an important milestone for Lyft and the industry.”
GM President Dan Ammann said, “We are very pleased with the success of Express Drive and how quickly the team implemented the program since our alliance was announced earlier this year. The Chevrolet Bolt EV and Volt are a perfect fit for ridesharing offering very low operating costs and a wide range of connectivity features for both drivers and passengers.”
