Two months ago, America's largest auto manufacturer, GM, invested a hefty $500 million to ride-hailing app Lyft to work on the services involving autonomous vehicles. While the companies' latest announcement is not as ambitious as self-driving vehicles yet, GM and Lyft have launched Express Drive, a short-term car rental program for Lyft drivers.
Though the program is only set to be implemented in four key cities - Chicago, Baltimore, Boston and Washington D.C. - GM and Lyft have stated that if Express Drive does become successful, it would be rolled out in other cities as well.
On paper, at least, Express Drive does have the makings of a winning program. For $99 a week plus $.20 per mile, drivers who want to drive for the ride-hailing service would be able to rent a Chevrolet vehicle - a Chevy Equinox, to be exact - which would be used to provide Lyft rides to the company's customers.
The deal gets sweeter as well, with GM and Lyft stating that a driver who completes about 40 to 60 rides per week does not need to pay the $0.20 per mile rate. Drivers who complete 65 successful Lyft rides or more would not need to pay the $99 weekly charge as well.
That's not all, either, as other vehicle-related documents and requirements such as insurance are covered, too. Thus, as long as drivers complete 65 Lyft rides per week, they would be able to drive an Equinox as much as they like, even for personal use.
Lyft co-founder John Zimmer is very optimistic about the future of the program, which he believes is very competitive. Lyft's main competitor, Uber, also has a somewhat similar car-leasing program, though base prices start at about $210 per week for sedans like a Toyota Corolla.
"We've now made car ownership optional on both sides of the market," Zimmer said. "Now you don't need to own a vehicle to make money on the platform, or to give rides to passengers. It'll be the best program on the market."
Neither GM nor Lyft has disclosed the specifics of the financial aspects of the program. Julia Steyn, GM's VP of urban mobility did say that the Express Drive program carries a lot of potential. "We are still assessing the size of the program, but John and I are both hoping for solid financial results," she said.
