Skip to main content

Lyft app gets bike lanes to encourage safer cycling

Lyft is adding protected bike lanes and bike-friendly routes to its app to encourage more people to use two-wheeled transportation. The Verge reports that the protected bike lanes will appear as dark green lines in the app while bike-friendly routes that are less protected will be represented as dotted green lines. The feature is available for Lyft bikes and scooter-sharing services on iOS devices, with Android to follow soon. Lyft’s head of micromobility policy, Caroline Samponaro, says: “Each ride
September 26, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

8789 Lyft is adding protected bike lanes and bike-friendly routes to its app to encourage more people to use two-wheeled transportation. 

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external The Verge false https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/19/20874032/lyft-add-bike-lane-app-citi-bike false false%> reports that the protected bike lanes will appear as dark green lines in the app while bike-friendly routes that are less protected will be represented as dotted green lines.

The feature is available for Lyft bikes and scooter-sharing services on iOS devices, with 1812 Android to follow soon.

Lyft’s head of micromobility policy, Caroline Samponaro, says: “Each ride on a bike or scooter represents a win for the environment, congestion and a more liveable city.”

Separately, Lyft is working with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) to help ensure US passengers do not miss healthcare appointments due to lack of reliable transportation.

BCBSA is a federation of independent and locally operated health insurance companies in which both parties originally developed separately. Blue Cross covered hospital services while Blue Shield handled physician services.

BCBSA chief medical officer Dr Trent Haywood says many Americans live in areas where medical care is beyond the reach of walking, biking or public transportation.

“As a result, they struggle to access critical health care services, even when they have health insurance,” he continues. “We are committed to addressing issues like transportation that are inextricably linked to health outcomes yet can’t be tackled through health care resources alone.”

BCBS combined a study on the health experiences of its members with local data on issues such as transportation, nutrition and the environment to focus on the community factors that have the most impact on individual health.

Over the next few months, BCBS will incorporate Lyft services into a free service for select Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies which remain unnamed.

Related Content

  • British Safety Council launches app for measuring air pollution in London
    March 11, 2019
    The British Safety Council (BSC) and Kings College London have launched an app for outdoor workers to measure exposure to air pollution – an increasing preoccupation for the ITS industry. The Canairy app could help improve workzone safety by providing employees, and their bosses, with information to help them reduce exposure to air pollution. The app is being launched as part of the BSC’s ‘Time to Breathe’ campaign, which seeks to encourage companies, policymakers and regulators to take the risks of
  • Lyft offering free rides for cancer patients in Atlanta
    June 27, 2018
    Lyft is offering free trips for cancer patients seeking treatment in Atlanta, US. The initiative is part of an extended partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS). ASC uses Lyft’s Concierge web platform to request rides on behalf of patients who do not have a ride or who are unable to drive themselves, according to media reports. The programme will also launch in Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
  • Waymo trials commercial driverless taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona
    December 10, 2018
    Waymo has launched a driverless taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona, where riders will be charged for the journeys they take. In a blog post, CEO John Krafcik says the commercial self-driving service – called Waymo One - is available to early riders who have already been using Waymo’s technology. The company hopes to make the service available to more members of the public as it adds more vehicles and drives in more places, he writes. “Self-driving technology is new to many, so we’re proceeding carefully wi
  • NLC publishes micromobility guide in US
    May 7, 2019
    NLC publishes micromobility guide in US