Our mission to improve lives with the world’s best transportation begins with health and safety – and that’s never been more important than it is right now. We recently established new health and safety standards for rideshare with the launch of Lyft’s Health Safety Program, based on CDC guidelines. The program includes a personal health certification that requires all riders and drivers to self-certify that they are symptom-free, will wear face masks throughout the ride, and will follow CDC and local health official guidelines in order to request a ride or drive with Lyft, as well as driver and rider education. 

Building off this, today we’re beginning to roll out vehicle partitions to drivers over the course of the coming months. The CDC recommends using vehicles with partitions to help maintain distance between drivers and riders, when available. 

Earlier this month, Lyft began providing partitions to frequent drivers, as well as those in our Express Drive rental program, in Atlanta, Denver and Baltimore. Following positive feedback from drivers and riders, we’re now providing partitions to additional drivers in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Phoenix, Dallas and New York City. In the next month, we will have made tens of thousands of partitions available to U.S. drivers for free, with the goal of providing 50% ride coverage in these markets. We plan to expand to a total of 30 regions and provide partitions to a total of 60,000 drivers in the coming months. 

Later this summer, partitions will be available for all drivers to purchase through the Lyft Store, our new online storefront designed to give drivers easy and affordable access to PPE, cleaning supplies and face masks that have consistently been difficult to find. Lyft does not make a profit on products sold through the Store – all products on the Lyft Store are priced at cost, and there is no Lyft markup. Drivers will be alerted when partitions are available for purchase in the Lyft Store. 

“Our community is counting on us to put their health and safety first,” said Angie Westbrock, VP of Global Operations and Head of Lyft’s COVID-19 Response Task Force. “By prioritizing the wellbeing of our drivers, our entire community gains extra peace of mind. We're setting the bar for health and safety in rideshare and will continue to expand our programs and products to continue raising that bar.” 

Since this crisis began, we have provided face masks and cleaning supplies to drivers across North America, and continue to distribute protective equipment to drivers today. In addition to the over 150,000 sanitizing products and masks we have already distributed, our most active drivers will now receive a free safety kit, consisting of a reusable cloth face covering, sanitizer and disinfectant. All drivers also have the ability to purchase additional PPE – including disposable and reusable masks, sanitizer and disinfectant – through the Lyft Store with no Lyft mark-up. 

As a leader in rideshare safety, we will continue to expand and evolve our Health Safety Program as appropriate to adhere to CDC guidelines and address the ongoing safety needs of the Lyft community.