Lyft recently announced that it deployed 200 long-range electric vehicles (EVs) into its Express Drive program in Denver. The Express Drive program operates in nearly three dozen U.S. cities and allows drivers to rent vehicles through Lyft's partners instead of committing to longer-term options such as leasing or buying their own. — Smart Cities Dive

[P]erhaps enticed by predictions of a $7 trillion autonomous driving industry, Lyft is saying it wants a build its own technology stack so it can operate its own self-driving cars.

To accomplish this, Lyft is opening a new 50,000-square-foot engineering facility in Palo Alto, California, that it’s calling the “Level 5” center in reference to the most advanced level of autonomous driving. Kapoor said the goal is to have “hundreds” of engineers working out of the facility by the end of 2018. — The Verge

The introduction of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft hasn't had any impact on the number of fatalities related to drunken driving, a newly published study finds.

Researchers at the University of Southern California and Oxford University looked at the 100 most populated metropolitan areas, analyzing data from before and after the introduction of Uber and its competitors, and found that access to ride-sharing apps had no effect on traffic fatalities related to drinking alcohol. — npr.org

On May 9, 10,000 Uber drivers effectively lost their jobs. So they did what anyone in 2016 does, they turned to Facebook to mobilize—and soon enough the passengers followed. [...]

The new system works like this: A prospective rider posts their pickup location within the group and within minutes several drivers usually comment with their contact information and screenshot of their Uber and/or Lyft profile. From there, the passenger and chosen driver negotiate a trip price privately. — vocativ.com

The decision to leave an energetic city known for its young, well-educated population offered a stark illustration of how strenuously the companies oppose new rules that would require them to perform fingerprint background checks on drivers.

Ending the service also meant that about 10,000 drivers would be out of work, Taylor Patterson, an Uber spokeswoman, said.

“Folks are devastated,” she said. “People are saying, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to pay my rent.’” — nytimes.com

Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, a lobbying group with the express purpose of advocating autonomous driving. [...]

"Self-driving vehicle technology will make America's roadways safer and less congested," [David Strickland, a former administrator of the NHTSA] said [...]

"The best path for this innovation is to have one clear set of federal standards, and the Coalition will work with policymakers to find the right solutions that will facilitate the deployment of self-driving vehicles." — theverge.com

Metro is negotiating an agreement with Lyft aimed at learning more about ride-share trips that begin and end at key Metro stations [...]

The relationship would last at least a year and would give Metro a rare peek at data typically kept private. The deal, one of the first of its kind in the United States, would shed light on the role that ride-sharing plays in ... the so-called "first mile, last mile" gap [...]

In exchange for Lyft's data, Metro would advertise the service to its riders — latimes.com