Lyft's Big Week: A Monthly Subscription Plan, Self-Driving Tech Partnership

Lyft is taking its advocates on a wild ride this week.

While announcing a multiyear, self-driving technology partnership with Magna International Inc. (USA) MGA, management unveiled plans for a monthly subscription model.

The subscription program, which The Verge said would shift the company toward a Netflix, Inc. NFLX- or Spotify-esque model, targets high-frequency users who spend up to $450 on ride-hailing services per month.

“We are going to move the entire industry from one based on ownership to one based on subscription,” CEO Logan Green said during a Wednesday press event.

Subscription opportunities vary; one all-access pass provides 30 sub-$15 Lyft rides for $200, while another offers 60 for $399. Lyft did not address whether more expensive rides would be altogether excluded from the plan or whether users could simply pay the difference.

Lyft began inviting beta participants for both the $200 and $399 offers Thursday.

Uber has similarly experimented with subscription services. In 2016 and 2017, it tested UberPLUS to allow users to lock in flat rates in participating cities.

The ride-hailing rivals are attempting to out-innovate each other as they compete for market dominance and, as some expect, race to seize capital in the public markets.

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Photo courtesy of Lyft. 

Posted In: NewsTravelTechMediaGeneralLyftride-hailingThe VergeUber
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