As ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft expand and autonomous vehicle tech grows more popular (which will likely lead to said services becoming cheaper), citizens of more densely-populated cities like New York or San Francisco are arguably beginning to lose the need to buy their own vehicles.
This idea is further backed up by the fact that many residents in these locations live in apartment complexes where safe parking space is at a premium, if not virtually non-existent in some areas.
To cater to individuals like this -- who may want to drive but don't want to buy or lease a vehicle to do so -- Lyft is rolling out "Lyft Rentals" to select parts of San Francisco, according to an Engadget report. As the name suggests, Rentals is Lyft's take on traditional car rental services. There's no need to go to a car rental office or make a phone call to an agent - it seems everything is handled through Lyft's dedicated app.
Rentals is primarily geared toward trips which may involve roughly a weekend of travel time, and its per-day pricing model makes that abundantly clear. For a "standard sedan," you'll be paying around $60 a day, whereas an SUV will up the cost to $100 per day.
Some useful accessories are provided free-of-charge, including bike racks and tire chains, whereas other add-ons, like accidental damage coverage, will run you roughly $16. It's worth noting that regardless of the options you choose, all of the vehicles in Lyft's rental fleet are reportedly brand new (or like-new, at the very least).
For now, Lyft Rentals is in an early testing stage, so it's impossible to say whether or not it will stick around for long, much less roll out to the rest of the country. Regardless, we'll be keeping our eye on the situation and we will update you if Lyft makes any official announcements.
Top image courtesy Engadget
https://www.techspot.com/news/80036-lyft-reportedly-testing-out-car-rental-service-san.html
