UPDATED 03:04 EST / MARCH 30 2017

APPS

Will Lyft’s new fixed-route service Shuttle work where Uber’s Smart Routes didn’t?

Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. is looking at making its service a little more attractive to people wanting to share a ride from the same pick-up point each day, rather than take a bus.

In an effort to cut down on costs for the consumer and reduce traffic congestion, Lyft has introduced Lyft Shuttle to its Line service, aimed at commuters who regularly take the same route each day. According to TechCrunch, the service is currently being tested only in Chicago and San Francisco, the latter where Lyft Line is used the most. The Shuttle service sounds, and is, just like a regular bus service, except of course the vehicle will be much smaller.

“Lyft Line is the future of rideshare, and we often test new features that we believe will have positive impact on our passengers’ transportation options,” a representative from Lyft told TechCrunch. “We look forward to feedback on Shuttle from the Lyft community; we see a number of commuting use cases that this mode will make easier.”

Whereas usually the price of a Lyft ride, whether shared or personal, will be affected by Prime Time traveling, Shuttle’s price will remain the same all day – a good thing for rush-hour commuters. The service will run around the regular rush hour times, from 6:30 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. on weekdays.

If a user is not near a route, nothing will happen within the Lyft app, but once a Shuttle is within the vicinity, the user can flag one down in the Line booking part of the app.

Uber Technologies Inc. tried something similar in 2015 called Uber “Smart Routes.” Available for its ride-sharing feature, UberPool, it was also hailed as a brilliant alternative to the bus.

Not long after it was introduced, though, the seemingly ephemeral feature looks to have vanished into thin air. It’s not yet clear why Lyft Shuttle would fare differently.

Image: Allie Michelle via Flickr

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