Lyft challenges more cities to ditch the car

Image: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Chicago was the first city to accept the challenge of going car-free for an entire month. Now, residents of 35 additional cities throughout the U.S. and Canada can play along and find out if they can get through more than 30 days without hopping into the driver’s seat.

When Lyft challenged Chicago to #DitchWithLyft for the month of August, more than 1,000 people signed up within 24 hours of the call going out. Only 100 people were selected from among the eager car-ditchers. (No word on how many succeeded on making it the whole month, but they all get points for trying.)

Before trying to go car-less for a month (it’s all through the honor system), nearly 90 percent of the Chicago participants admitted driving their own car was stressful because of finding parking. Second most stress-inducing feature of driving? Traffic jams. After a month of no driving, 90 percent of the challengers said they no longer feel the need to drive themselves to go to work, the gym, or out. Progress? 

Now car commuters in 35 cities can try to hack it without a personal automobile from Oct. 8 to Nov. 6 — with a little help from Lyft. Fifty commuters randomly selected from each city after signing up to ditch their car for a month will get credit for alternate travel options, based on what’s available locally. That breaks down to:

• $300 Lyft Shared ride credit or Lyft all-access plan (if Shared rides aren’t available where you live)

• $45 bike-share credit

• $100 rental car credit

• $105 public transit monthly pass

The point of the promotional challenge is to show that traditional commuter habits are changing and even outdated. The timing of the expanded challenge is no coincidence. Ride-share companies like Lyft and Uber are fully embracing alternate transit options, including bike-shares and e-scooters and even public transit, as seen with transit planning integrations within the ride-hailing apps. 

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has been loud and clear about turning the ride-hailing company into the “Amazon of transportation.” Lyft has taken a similar approach with its Motivate bike-share acquisition and, in Santa Monica, California, partnering with Trafi to show users in-app options for public transit — that means using the app not to find a Lyft, but a Big Blue Bus or LA Metro trip.

Last week, Lyft scooters, along with Uber’s Jump and scooter-share companies Bird and Lime, kicked off in Santa Monica. Lyft scooters arrived in early September in Denver. Caroline Samponaro, Lyft’s policy lead for bikes, scooters, and pedestrians, said in conversation earlier this month that including more options in the app is a “really tangible way we get to give people tools to access transit proactively.” It’s not just about ride-hailing anymore.

A survey of more than 1,000 passengers out this week from ride-hailing driver blog The Rideshare Guy, ride-share comparison app Bellhop, and ride calculator RideGuru found that about 40 percent said they’re less likely to buy their own vehicle because of the availability of ride-sharing. 

As for bikes and scooters, it’s still early days, but 30 percent of respondents said they could see using the alternate methods to get around. Almost half of those surveyed said they were open to a combination trip with a bicycle or scooter and then hailing a ride.

Here’s the full list of metro areas offering the Lyft challenge:

Good luck staying away from your car … that $550 from Lyft should help.