Ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber have become so popular that many young people in urban areas are now avoiding owning cars solely thanks to the ease and convenience of the apps. All that ride-sharing comes at a cost, however, and many ride-hailing app services are now facing higher taxes to help offset their effects on public transportation and infrastructure. Will local governments might still be scrambling to find ways to adapt to the rise of Uber, Lyft, and other similar services, it’s clear that transportation has changed forever. Now, Lyft has launched what they call an “All-Access Plan,” a subscription service which could make many Lyft rides otherwise free for some passengers. The plan is already so popular that there is a waitlist.
Lyft hasn’t yet made their All-Access Plan available to all users. Select passengers were notified through invitations to join the waitlist for the next wave of subscriptions. Interested Lyft users will pay a one-time $200 fee in order to get $15 off of each ride for 30 rides. If the ride is under $15, it’s free, and it’s over, riders pay the difference.
Speaking to TechCrunch, a Lyft spokesperson says that the move is part of the company’s overall plan to move to a subscription-based model:
Testing our newest All-Access Plan is the next step in moving rideshare from one based on ownership, to one based on subscription. We’re excited to roll this out to more passengers in the coming weeks and continue offering Lyft’s affordable, convenient, and reliable rides.
It’s not clear how many Lyft users currently use the All-Access Plan or are on the waitlist, but Lyft has been testing similar plans for over a year now. Will these subscription plans become the new norm in ride-hailing? Is this part of a build-up to the oncoming fleets of hailable autonomous vehicles?
