GM extends ride-hailing rental program

General Motors is extending its strategic alliance with ride-hailing start-up Lyft, and will be expanding its Express Drive rental program to three more cities across the US as part of its move into the personal mobility services market.

The two companies piloted Express Drive earlier this year in Chicago as a short-term rental program exclusive to the Lyft platform, after finding there were 60,000 people who applied to be drivers but did not have a car that qualified. The program makes cars available to Lyft drivers, who are in competition with other online ride services such as Uber, at affordable rates with insurance and maintenance included.

The launch of Express Drive in March came two months after GM entered into a strategic alliance with Lyft to develop an integrated on-demand network of autonomous vehicles. The automaker has ploughed some $500m of investment into the new start-up.

In the pilot, Express Drive rates started at $99 per week including insurance and maintenance, and when drivers completed 65 rides a week they were able to access a vehicle at no weekly rental cost. In addition to affordability, Express Drive offers flexible terms for drivers who can rent cars on a weekly basis for up to eight weeks at a time.

This summer Express Drive will launch in San Francisco, followed by Denver and Los Angeles later in the year. Lyft says that in these three cities combined, there are over 130,000 people who applied to become Lyft drivers — but did not have qualifying cars — who will now have the opportunity to drive on the platform.

In addition, Express Drive’s California members will have access to vehicles from the largest pure electric vehicle fleets, including the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and the extended-range electric 2016 Chevrolet Volt.

This expansion follows successful launches in Boston, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. Lyft says its research shows 30% of new Lyft driver applicants in Chicago have requested an Express Drive vehicle, while overall Lyft drivers with Express Drive vehicles have earned $2 million.