Ride hailing services using cars is pretty common in many parts of the world, but in some parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia, ride hailing services using motorcycles is also common. Take for example over in Thailand where instead of regular taxis, you can also flag down motorcycle taxis which are cheaper and faster as they get to zip in between cars.
Now according to a report from The Information (paywall; via Fortune), it seems that Lyft could be considering a scooter service in the US. The report claims that a local consulting firm that represents Lyft has approached San Francisco transportation officials in recent weeks, inquiring about applying permits for electric scooters.
However instead of it following a similar model to Lyft’s ride hailing service, these electric scooters are meant to be rented out to riders who need to get to their locations, meaning that it will act more as an alternative to taking the bus, train, taxi, or driving your car. It sounds like an interesting idea although it is similar to already-existing bike services, except that on a scooter there is the potential to move around faster.
That being said, there could be some hurdles to overcome with this service, namely it will require Lyft to show the authorities that they can educate users on how to properly park scooters so that they don’t block sideways, and also how to lock them to bike racks, and so on. This means that it might be a while before we see such a service launch, if at all, so until then take it with a grain of salt.
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