Lyft Gets Into The Commuting Business

On-demand ride-sharing service Lyft is announcing a new program that will allow businesses to give Lyft credits to employees as a perk. The new Lyft for Work program, which launches today, is aimed at boosting adoption of the service while also providing a better commuting experience for company employees.

Lyft for Work allows employers to purchase and issue credits to employees each month, which they can dip into for commuting to the office or traveling to and from certain company events. In July, Uber launched Uber for Business, which allows multiple employees to use a company credit card for billing their work-related car rides, rather than each using individual company cards (or their own and then seeking reimbursement)

The program is getting off to a modest start. A total of 29 companies are using Lyft for Work from day one, including Adobe, Stripe and Yelp. More likely than not, you’ll have to cajole management into signing up. It also makes sense only in areas where Lyft is particularly popular, like San Francisco; a monthly balance won’t help much if you can’t usually hail a car in a timely fashion. If everything falls into place, though, you may avoid commuting costs without losing the perks of a private car.

Source: Engadget