[tabi] Lyft and Uber launch programs to cater to those without smart phones
- From: "Chip and Allie Orange" <acorange@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2016 18:59:40 -0400
Lynn,
Even though the author of this article described it as being for “seniors”, it
appears to be that any can use it, and it should allow you to use Uber without
having a smart phone as you were just discussing recently.
Chip
From: Sheila Young via fcb-l [mailto:fcb-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2016 1:21 PM
To: Sheila Young
Subject: [fcb-l] Lyft and Uber launch programs to cater to seniors.
Lyft and Uber launch programs to cater to seniors
list of 4 items
Lyft and Uber launch programs to cater to seniors
August 31, 2016 by Tracey Lien, Los Angeles Times
article
Uber and Lyft spent the last four years cornering the millennial market. Now
they're going after a new demographic: senior citizens.
Get Fares, Schedules & Routes with MyTransitGuide Now!
list end
Both ride-hailing companies recently announced partnerships with service
providers that allow older customers to book rides through a phone operator,
bypassing
smartphone apps entirely.
The partnerships come as both companies continue to compete neck and neck for
drivers and passengers, with both companies announcing similar features
(retirement
benefits, health insurance and gas discounts, and same-day pay features for
drivers, as well as carpooling, fare-splitting and scheduled rides) within
months, weeks or even days of each other.
Lyft announced a partnership with the San Diego firm GreatCall on Tuesday. Uber
announced a similar partnership with the Los Angeles firm 24Hr HomeCare
last week.
Neither service requires customers to have accounts with Uber or Lyft or to own
smartphones. Lyft's operator service is only available to GreatCall members,
and Uber's operator service through 24Hr Home Care, named RideWith24, is
available to the public via a toll-free number.
"As we looked at the challenges older consumers have with staying in their home
longer, one of the main issues is transportation," said David Inns, chief
executive of GreatCall, which boasts more than 900,000 customers nationwide.
"With a lot of people in the seniors age group, they're not at the stage where
downloading an app and using it effectively is a great option."
With GreatCall, customers press zero on their GreatCall Jitterbug phones and
speak with an operator, who books the ride on their behalf. The operator has
access to Lyft's Concierge platform, which lets them contact the assigned
driver to let them know they are picking up an elderly passenger who may require
assistance. Billing for the ride then appears on their GreatCall statement.
To book a ride with Uber, customers call RideWith24 to speak with an operator,
who takes the customer's
credit card details
on file and books a ride for them.
Both services are currently available in California, Florida, Arizona and
Dallas.
The partnerships are similar to a service offered by GogoGrandparent, a startup
founded by San Diego native Justin Boogaard, which lets seniors call an
operator to book rides with Uber, and use other on-demand services such as
Instacart (grocery delivery), Munchery (dinner delivery) and Postmates
(shopping).
Boogaard's
service
is still in beta, but is available nationwide. The startup was accepted by tech
incubator Y Combinator in July.
img/1x1
Explore further:
Lyft on track to bring in $1 billion revenue this year, exec says
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