GM Giving Lyft Drivers Early Access To New Electric Chevy Bolt

Back in March, General Motors announced that a portion of its $500 million investment in ride-sharing service Lyft would go toward renting SUVs to prospective drivers for $99/week. Today, the carmaker announced it would expand that service to two additional cities and offer these drivers a chance to be the first to get their hands on the new Chevy Bolt electric car. 

GM unveiled on Monday the expansion of its Express Drive short-term vehicle access program to California and Colorado, offering prospective drivers access to its new all-electric Bolt EV.

Express Drive is set to launch in San Francisco this summer and in L.A. and Denver this fall.

Only drivers in California will have the choice to lease the plug-in electric 2016 Chevrolet Volt and the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV — once it comes into production this fall.

GM president Dan Ammann said in a statement that the Bolt and Volt are the perfect fit for Lyft drivers as they offer “low operating costs and a wide range of connectivity features for both drivers and passengers.

The carmaker estimates that offering the program will allow some of the 130,000 people who applied to be Lyft drivers but didn’t have cars last year to start driving for the ride-hailing service.

So far, GM says the service — which launched in Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., and Baltimore in March — has been quite successful, with the Boston program becoming full after four days, and 30% of new Lyft drivers in Chicago requesting an Express Drive vehicle.

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