Ride-sharing service Lyft is playing up the route-sharing aspect of its business.
On Tuesday, the startup announced a new service called Driver Destination, which it hopes will attract new drivers by offering them the option of picking a destination and then selecting passengers who are also headed that way.
“Lyft’s new Driver Destination unlocks a new opportunity for people to give a ride during their own driving trips — like when running errands, or commuting everyday to work,” the company said in a blog post provided to Fortune.
The new service is basically an extension of Lyft Line, which launched in August and allows passengers to find carpooling options based on common destinations. Driver Destination is aimed at current or prospective Lyft drivers Lyft says the new service “makes it possible for even more people to become Lyft drivers, and fill the empty seats in their cars during trips they’d ordinarily drive alone.”
According to the company, roughly 80% of commuters make their daily drive to work with no one else in the car. Lyft estimates drivers could make up to $400 each month by picking people up along the way and dropping them nearby “with minimal detours,” the company said.
Lyft has been engaged in a fierce competition for drivers with fellow ride-sharing service Uber. The two startups have had an intense, and public, war of words that has included examples of name-calling as well as accusations of sabotage and poaching drivers. The rivalry has even extended to Uber hiring a former Lyft executive, which led to a lawsuit, and Uber admitting to attempts to stifle Lyft’s fundraising efforts.
