Ride-sharing app company Lyft will offer free rides in New York City to Queens and Brooklyn residents as it expands national service to most of the country. The move comes as direct competitor Uber continues to rollout service to new cities in Europe. Lyft is keeping itself focused on the American market.
The move, according to the company, aims at increasing interest in Lyft as a viable alternative to traditional taxi services. The free rides should help boost coverage of the San Francisco-based company that, like competitor Uber, uses a peer-to-peer ride sharing mobile app that allows private citizens get a private car for their journey from point A to point B.
Lyft earns a commission on every fare, and in a blog post announced that the Brooklyn and Queens boroughs of New York City will see service beginning on Friday.
"Now, residents and visitors looking to travel in between boroughs, get a ride to the closest subway station, or head out for a night on the town can easily request a safe and friendly ride," says Lyft in the posting.
"Not only does Lyft cost less than a cab, it also allows passengers to meaningfully connect with someone in their community as they share the ride," it adds.
The service, like Uber, has come under threat and protest from taxi drivers, who argue that the private drivers are not adequately trained, do not undergo the same background checks as taxi drivers and are uninsured, leaving responsibility for any incident that may occur in the vehicle in limbo.
But Lyft co-founder John Zimmer, in a recent interview, said that the outer areas of New York City "are the areas that are most underserved by public transportation. There's a huge need to unlock the city for people who want to access it at a lower price point."
The company claims that more than 75,000 people have already opened the app in the area. Zmmer said the service in the city is "something we wanted to do for a long time, especially in the outer boroughs, building into a vision of creating a personal transit network at the lowest possible cost."
By adding the boroughs, New York will become the 68th city Lyft will be operating in. With statistics pointing to the majority of taxi services in the city, around 95 percent, occurring at airports or in Manhattan, the market appears ripe for Lyft to enter.
As part of the launch, the company will offer two weeks free service for users. "All new passengers in New York City will receive two weeks of free rides to beat the heat and enjoy their first few Lyfts," adds Lyft.
