The company’s new pilot program will tap drivers to deliver ‘essential’ items like groceries, medical supplies, and home goods. The initiative, first teased in March, is dubbed Essential Deliveries, and it will be available in 11 cities in US to start out.
The delivery service will look a lot different than customer-facing services like Uber Eats, Door Dash, and Instacart. Approved partners, which include government agencies, local non-profits, businesses, and health care organisations, can schedule customer deliveries through an online portal that will then be picked up by Lyft drivers. Recipients will include seniors and people with compromised immune systems who are looking to minimise risk of exposure to COVID-19. Lyft says it will also deliver to low-income individuals and families that lack access to reliable transportation.
The company is also providing free and discounted bike-share passes and e-scooter rides to essential workers in half a dozen cities.
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