Express Drive offers GM vehicles to Lyft drivers under a short-term rental program. Photo courtesy of GM.

Express Drive offers GM vehicles to Lyft drivers under a short-term rental program. Photo courtesy of GM. 

Express Drive, General Motors’ short-term car rental program for Lyft drivers, plans to expand to Colorado and California.

Launching in San Francisco in the summer of 2016 and in Los Angeles by the fall, Express Drive’s California members will have access to vehicles from GM’s electric vehicle fleet, including the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV and the 2016 Chevrolet Volt.

Express Drive will also launch operations in Denver by the fall of 2016.

In San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver combined, over 130,000 people who applied to become Lyft drivers but didn’t have qualifying cars will now have the opportunity to drive on the platform, according to GM.

Currently, Express Drive is operating in Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. According to GM, since March, the Lyft program has seen interest and adoption:

• 30% of new Lyft-driver applicants in Chicago have requested an Express Drive vehicle.

• Boston’s program was fully subscribed in less than four days.

• Nearly $2 million earned by Lyft drivers in the program to date.

“Expanding Express Drive provides opportunities to hundreds of thousands of new potential Lyft drivers and continues to make car ownership optional for both drivers and passengers,” said John Zimmer, Lyft’s president and co-founder. “We are also excited to be adding electric vehicles to Express Drive, which is an important milestone for Lyft and the industry.”

“We are very pleased with the success of Express Drive and how quickly the team implemented the program since our alliance was announced earlier this year,” said Dan Ammann, GM’s president. “The Chevrolet Bolt EV and Volt are a perfect fit for ridesharing, offering very low operating costs and a wide range of connectivity features for both drivers and passengers.”

Originally posted on Automotive Fleet

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