Lyft is integrating Spin’s electric scooters into its app, with the objective of ultimately that includes the scooters in all 60 cities the place Spin operates in the US.
The transfer comes amid extra consolidation in the micromobility world after Berlin’s Tier Mobility acquired Spin from Ford earlier this month. Lyft, which owns Citi Bike in New York City, continues to function its personal fleet of e-scooters regardless of many monetary headwinds.
Lyft’s partnership with Spin will kick off in Nashville, adopted by 13 further markets all through April, together with Phoenix, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Providence, Raleigh / Durham, Charlotte, Fort Collins, Ann Arbor, Kansas City, and Memphis.
Riders will see Spin scooters as an possibility after they search their vacation spot in the Lyft app. A Spin scooter can be unlocked by way of the Lyft app by scanning its QR code or coming into the scooter ID quantity — comparable to how Citi Bike clients can unlock a motorbike by the Lyft app.
Sunshine Shannon Photography
The race amongst main tech corporations to change into the “Amazon of transportation” has slowed down since the COVID-19 pandemic upended each day life. But Lyft nonetheless sees worth in integrating varied companies into its app, together with Google Maps, CityMapper, Moovit, Transit app, Bytemark, and Velocia.
Of course, Lyft isn’t the first to combine one other firm’s scooters into its app. Lime’s scooters have been available to rent in Uber’s app since 2018 after the ride-hail firm contributed to a $335 million fundraising spherical for Lime. Uber later offered its Jump e-bikes to Lime amid a broader transfer by the firm to consolidate its holdings round automobile journeys and supply.