Lyft is handing out $550 in services if you ditch your car but here’s the big catch. Well, there are several catches.
Have you fallen out of love with your 2006 Toyota Corolla and just don’t look forward to driving yourself around anymore? According to The Verge on their piece on this money giveaway from earlier yesterday (July 31, 2018) Lyft is here to relieve you of your car and will give you $550 to park your Corolla for 30 days. Of course, Lyft isn’t just throwing out money willy-nilly. Here’s the big catch.
- First, this is a pilot program so you must live in Chicago.
- You must own a car and have proof of ownership. Sorry, you can’t borrow your mom’s car for the day just to get free rides.
- It’s not exactly cold hard cash. You’re specifically given
- $300 in Lyft shared ride credit
- $45 for a monthly Divvy bike-share pass
- $100 in Zipcar credit
- $105 for “L” train and bus service
- Lyft expects you to share your experiences on social media so you can expect them to monitor your accounts for Lyft activity.
For a countryside dweller like me, owning a car is a must. Our bus services around here just plain stink and besides walking or biking, cars are the way to go.
But, in a city, I can totally see this type of experiment working with multiple forms of transportation at your fingertips. Even when I was a younger me without a license in the Bay Area, long before there was ridesharing, driverless me got around to more places than I do today thanks to a network of clean buses, biking, and Bay Area Rapid Transit.
Presumably, if you’re living in Chicago living the car life, it’s convenient but I can only guess it’s a drain on your wallet with parking, gas, insurance, and general upkeep, not to mention the fear of getting your car stolen.
Keep in mind this is all an experiment, is in reality just a push to promote its newly acquired Divvy bike share program, and to turn a profit.
Also, look out Portland, this program is headed your way next!
