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GM and Lyft to Offer Express Drive Program in California and Colorado

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GM and Lyft will offer its Express Drive program

General Motors reported that Chicago Lyft drivers made more $2 million since the Express Drive program debuted in March
Photo: © General Motors

In March of 2016, General Motors partnered with ride sharing service Lyft in order to create Express Drive, which is a unique program that allows Lyft drivers to rent GM vehicles in order to perform trips.

In fact, when drivers are able to complete 65 or more trips in a single week, the money owed towards leasing the vehicle is waived and the driver only has to pay for gas. Having already launched this service in Chicago, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Boston, GM and Lyft recently announced it would be expanding the Express Drive program to the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver.

However, while Express Drive is scheduled to launch later this summer in San Francisco, it won’t become available in Denver and Los Angeles until the fall season.


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The reason why the Express Drive program has become so popular is because it allows people who don’t own their own vehicles to become Lyft drivers. There were more than 130,000 applicants in California and Colorado alone who were unable to drive for Lyft because they didn’t have cars that met requirements. In many US cities, a driver must have a 2004 model year vehicle or newer in order to drive for Lyft.

Because California is home to so many hybrid and electric vehicles, Lyft drivers in the Golden State will be able to rent the all-new 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2016 Chevrolet Volt. Other vehicles available to California drivers through this program include the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, and Chevrolet Malibu.

According to a GM press release, Lyft drivers have earned nearly $2 million in the Express Drive program since it was launched in March. In addition, approximately 30% of new Lyft-driver applicants in Chicago have requested access to Express Drive automobiles.

“Expanding Express Drive provides opportunities to hundreds of thousands of new potential Lyft drivers and continues to make car ownership optional for both drivers and passengers,” said John Zimmer, Lyft’s president and co-founder. “We are also excited to be adding electric vehicles to Express Drive, which is an important milestone for Lyft and the industry.”


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