Automotive Fleet, July 2018

AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I JULY 2018 22 The mission of Lyft Business is to help organizations of all sizes design transportation solutions for their employees and customers Lyft Business works closely with partners to identify solutions that address specific challenges in their industries BY MIKE ANTICH Lyft is an on demand rideshare transportation company headquartered in San Francisco Launched in 2012 the Lyft app matches passengers with local drivers at the tap of a button Lyft is now available to 95 of the U S population and provides more than 10 million rides per week In 2015 Lyft launched a new business unit called Lyft Business which has been experiencing triple digit year over year growth Since its inception Lyft Business has developed transportation solutions in a variety of industries for thousands of partner organizations to move employees customers patients and students In March 2018 Lyft announced a partnership with Allscripts an electronic health records company to create a platform allowing healthcare providers to arrange rides for patients without transportation to appointments Over 2500 hospitals 180000 physicians and 7 million patients rely on Allscripts Its first fleet management partnership was announced on April 23 2018 with LeasePlan USA a fleet management and driver mobility company The partnership with Lyft Business was part of LeasePlans strategic initiative to become a mobility hub for its fleet clients To learn more about Lyft Business AF interviewed Benjamin Sternsmith area vice president at Lyft Business AF Could you provide an overview of the mission of Lyft Business why it was started and its position within the larger Lyft organization STERNSMITH Lyft Business was launched in 2015 as a division within Lyft which is a consumer company Lyft Business is comprised of a group of Lyft employees who are solely focused on serving enterprise organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies down to startups We help enterprises and organizations of all sizes provide safe affordable and friendly rides to people they care about Any company moving an employee or customer of their business falls in our camp versus a consumer ride AF What are some examples of companies partnering with Lyft Business STERNSMITH Were partnering with new and used auto dealers rental car companies auto shops and car insurance organizations In addition Lyft Business also partners with healthcare companies educational institutions corporate travel departments and public transit agencies We are improving the customer experience of these companies via our Lyft Concierge product which is a way to call rides for a customer who doesnt have the Lyft app on their phone AF Is there a differentiation between the Lyft Business drivers and Lyft consumer drivers For instance could the driver who responds to a Lyft Business call conceivably be the same person who responds to a consumer call STERNSMITH Its all the same driver base In order to maintain a low ETA estimated time of arrival we have the same fleet of cars responding to all those needs At Lyft ETA is a metric we obsess over DEVELOPING TRANSPORTATION PARTNERSHIPS IN KEY INDUSTRIES Lyft Concierge is an online portal used by companies to call rides for customers who do not have the Lyft app on their phone The company enters the address of the destination for the customer and Lyft texts the customer on their phone of the upcoming ride Benjamin Sternsmith area vice president at Lyft Business