Amtrak has officially announced a partnership with Lyft that will make it easier for riders to get from the Amtrak station they arrive at to where they actually need to go. The partnership manifested as an integration of the Amtrak and Lyft apps, allowing customers to access Lyft from inside the Amtrak app. As a bonus, users can enter the code “AMTRAKLYFT” during checkout in order to get $5 off of each of their first four Lyft rides from an Amtrak station. Depending on the distance, this could make Lyft the cheapest option for getting from a station to your actual destination. Lyft serves the communities around 97 percent of Amtrak stations in America, meaning that almost any Amtrak trip can have Lyft used for its final leg.
Since partnering up with Google, Lyft has been aggressively expanding its reach in places where it would make sense to interject itself. The ridesharing company has been in talks with the likes of Disney and Taco Bell, among others. Last-mile and first-mile transit partnerships with larger transport entities like airlines and long-range bus lines, or in this case, long-range train lines, are one of the best potential profit areas for companies like Lyft; it’s unlikely that road-weary travelers would want to pony up for a traditional cab or try to deal with local transportation methods like metros and buses to reach their ending destinations. This can especially hold true in this case, given the way that this partnership makes Lyft the cheapest available option in many situations. Even after the first four ride coupons are used up, Lyft is generally more cost-effective than a taxi while being easier than walking, taking a bus, or navigating a metro rail system.
While first-mile and last-mile transit deals are nothing new in the transportation industry, this particular segment may end being dominated by Lyft in the wake of recent troubles at Uber that have left the company in a fairly rough shape, both financially and in the public eye. Similar companies on a smaller, local scale do exist, but with Google’s backing, none can boast the brand clout and financial power that Lyft now can, making it a more likely candidate for deals like this than local options in most markets.