Considering New York City’s iconic cabs seen on ads and posters online, there is no doubt that this city is the largest taxi market in the United States. So, Lyft is tapping into this potential to offer something bigger, something greater, and something incredible. Here’s the scoop from RSF!
Lyft and Curb recently announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to cater to the Big Apple. That’s not a brand-new partnership, but the expansion of a partnership. Eligible Lyft passengers in the Big Apple will be matched with a licensed taxi via Curb Flow, Curb’s open API that aggregates ride demand into a single network directly through the Lyft app they use.
Curb is a company – officially doing business as a taxi app that passengers can use to request then pay for taxis – that reimagines urban mobility with a driver-first approach built upon upfront pricing and transparency.
It is based in Long Island City, the same place where its yellow cab technology was first seen. Curb connects over a whopping 100,000 drivers across 65 cities and more in the USA, Great Britain, and Canada, enabling millions of rides and billions of dollars in transactions yearly.
This platform also unifies taxis and for-hire vehicles for passengers, drivers, and fleet managers alike, while its B2B services support transit agencies, healthcare providers, and businesses. Quite stunning!
Under this expanded deal, riders requesting a Standard, Priority Pickup, or the Wait & Save ride via the Lyft app may be matched with a licensed taxi, whichever is nearby. Passengers who prefer not to get matched with a taxi may change the settings on their app.
Note that every ride will offer the same Lyft experience that passengers get from this ridesharing app: upfront pricing, driver and vehicle information, in-app safety features, and the ability to tip and rate their driver, except that things are happening with Curb.
“New York City is the heart of the taxi industry in America, and this expansion with Lyft reflects our shared commitment to putting drivers first and giving riders a better experience,” Dorel Tamam, Mobile Business Unit Deputy at Curb, told the RSF team. “Curb Flow was built to unify the fragmented ride-hailing experience, and bringing Lyft into that network in New York City is a major milestone for drivers and riders alike.”
Lyft’s features, safety capabilities, real-time location sharing, in-app chat, Smart Trip Check-in, and emergency assistance will be made available for these rides. However, if you are a Curb driver wanting to join this program, definitely you will need to abide by the same standards that Lyft drivers find themselves under.
“Taxis are iconic within New York City, and we’re proud to bring the Lyft experience to cab riders and drivers here for the first time,” stated Jeremy Bird, global growth executive deputy at Lyft. “This expansion connects a well-established community of professional drivers to millions of Lyft riders, making it easier for New Yorkers to get where they’re going.”
This expansion in the Big Apple follows the launches in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but this the very first-time this kind is happening in NYC. Building on previous deployments in Los Angeles and San Francisco, thousands of cab drivers on the Curb network will gain access to millions of Lyft riders in the city. Gain access to more ridesharing content when you open your account here on RSF, your trusted newsroom for ridesharing, coupons, deliveries, business, and so much more!