Archinect - News

Lyft deployed 200 long-range electric vehicles into its Denver rental fleet

2019-11-20T11:03:00-05:00

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.

According to Smart Cities Dive, the effort is part of Lyft's larger plan for a fully electrified fleet. The vehicles will be available this December.

Lyft joins the race in building its own self-driving technology

2017-07-24T14:36:00-04:00

[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.

According to The Verge, Lyft is yet to release more concrete details of their plan, including which components of a self-driving car they will build themselves or how much money they plan to spend. Last month, Lyft announced their partnership with self-driving car startup NuTonomy to launch a test pilot of NuTonomy's cars in Boston later this year.

New study finds ride-sharing apps like Lyft and Uber have no effect on drunk-driving fatalities

2016-08-02T17:43:00-04:00

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.

Uber has claimed previously that its services help decrease instances of drunk-driving, by providing an easy alternative to inebriated drivers. Uber cites a study it did with MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, that found "anecdotal evidence" in line with this popular belief, as well as a report by Temple University that pointed to "a correlation between decreased alcohol-related driving fatalities and the introduction of Uber services in California."

Temple University's report didn't control for other variables that could have affected the rate of drunk-driving fatalities, and was focused in California. The takeaway from the USC/Oxford study seems to be that ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft do not necessarily help curb drunk-driving incidents any more than taxis, when all such services are just as accessible.

Without Uber or Lyft, Austin turns to Facebook for rides

2016-06-22T13:30:00-04:00

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.

Related on Archinect:

Protesting fingerprint checks, Uber and Lyft end rides in Austin

2016-05-11T13:01:00-04:00

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.’”

In cities like Austin—with no comprehensive rail service, a dominant car culture and a large youthful population—ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft are omnipresent. Lyft sponsored the city's huge annual SXSW festival in 2016, and as the city has been growing "faster than any other metropolitan area in the country," public transportation for tourists and commuters alike is strained.

Other ridesharing services besides Uber and Lyft will continue operations in the city, while Lyft and Uber consider how to continue operating in other cities (like New York and Houston) that also require drivers undergo fingerprint background checks.

More ridesharing news:

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Google, Uber, Lyft, Ford and Volvo join forces to lobby for autonomous vehicles

2016-04-28T12:51:00-04:00

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."

Lyft has also been in talks with General Motors (which is not a part of the Self-Driving Coalition) to put out its own group of autonomous for-hire vehicles. Models for Google's vehicles include both bespoke prototypes and Lexus SUVs, and Uber is developing its own testing grounds for self-driving cars in Pittsburgh.

Related on Archinect:

Lyft gets cozy with LA transit agencies to share data on Metro connections

2016-02-24T13:20:00-05:00

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

Lyft's recent advertising has also been flaunting its connection with public transit – ads all over the US depict the local city's rail map with branching pink veins, suggesting how Lyft can extend existing public transit infrastructure (even though you're still definitely in a stranger's privately-owned vehicle).

Below is an ad in San Francisco, riffing on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART):

Check out more pieces on ridesharing and public transit:

Weekly News Round-Up for August 4, 2014: Musk, Martha and monuments

2014-08-11T15:53:00-04:00

Friday, August 8:

Guggenheim Bullies Journalist: Molly Crabapple reports for Vice on inhumane immigrant labor conditions on Saadiyat island in the UAE, where a new arm of the Guggenheim (and Louvre, and NYU) is being built. The Guggenheim holds its cards close and skirts responsibility when Crabapple pushes for answers.
Controversial new app will keep you away from "sketchy" areas: "SketchFactor" rates an area's "sketchiness" based on crowd-sourced local data. Critics are worried that the app will amplify racial profiling and encourage stereotyping.

Thursday, August 7:

Gentrification and the Persistence of Poor Minority Neighborhoods: Harvard sociologists identify another determinant in the gentrification debate: racial composition. Their report, focusing on Chicago, found that a neighborhood's economic redevelopment depended on certain thresholds of black and white residents.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu called for the suspension of the Israeli Architects’ Association from an intern...