General Motors has announced a collaboration with Lyft set to spawn an on-demand ride-sharing service consisting solely of autonomous cars.
Lyft, alongside Uber, is one of the world’s most popular ride-sharing services and as part of the deal, will receive $500 million of investments from General Motors to help the expansion of its service. In exchange for the investment, GM will hold a seat of Lyft’s board of directors.
Limited details have been provided about the upcoming autonomous car ride-sharing service. All that is known is that it will bring together GM’s autonomous technologies with Lyft’s ride-sharing capabilities. At this stage, no date has been set as to when we could see the program in operation.
As part of the deal, GM will also provide its vehicles to Lyft drivers through numerous rental hubs across the United States. Additionally, Lyft drivers and customers will have access to GM’s OnStar services.
Discussing the deal, GM president Dam Ammann said “We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous. With GM and Lyft working together, we believe we can successfully implement this vision more rapidly.”
President and co-founder of Lyft, John Zimmer added “Working with GM, Lyft will continue to unlock new transportation experiences that bring positive change to our daily lives. Together we will build a better future by redefining traditional car ownership.”
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