150,000 Motorists Sign Up To Ditch Their Cars For Lyft Alternatives

Ride-hailing giant Lyft has convinced more than 150,000 people to ditch their cars for a month in exchange for numerous transportation alternatives.

Lyft kicked off its ‘Ditch Your Car’ program in the United States last week and only expected to have a few thousand people sign up, Automotive News reports.

While it is unclear exactly how many of the people to have signed up will actually be enrolled in the program, Lyft chief strategy officer Raj Kapoor said the response to program shows just how little interest the younger generation has in owning a car.

“Young people care about access to cars, not ownership, and their identity is not tied to a car as much as it used to be,” he said.

Lyft will run its Ditch Your Car program in 35 cities across the United States, including in New York and Los Angeles. Those selected to participate will receive access to shared Lyft vehicles, Zipcar’s short-term car-rental network, as well as local transit and bike-rental partners. The 30-day program will require participants to park their vehicle from November 6 until December 6.

Not only does the Ditch Your Car program aim to accelerate the shift away from private car ownership but it also serves as a way for Lyft to test new business models that involve bundling a host of transportation services into a single payment. The company has already introduced subscription plans this year that include a $199 monthly payment for 30 rides and a $399 payment for 60 rides.

Lyft also believes these types of subscription programs will boost efficiencies across the transportation system.