Takeout is more essential to food lovers than ever before, with Covid-19 changing restaurant service across the country. Not only is ordering food delivery help support restaurants and their staff, but it’s certainly the safest way to eat following the pandemic precautions laid out by the CDC. With dining at home and restaurant delivery surging in 2020, tech companies are forming strategic partnerships to latch onto these new, and likely ongoing trends. This October, Lyft is announced a new partnership with Grubhub, providing Lyft Pink members with complimentary access to Grubhub+ (and Seamless+, which typically costs $9.99 monthly), which offers one-of-a-kind rewards on food and restaurants.
“Lyft Pink has always been oriented on delivering great value for our members. When we launched, that value was rooted in our transportation network,” Heather Freeland, Lyft’s VP of Marketing said in a statement. “We heard from our riders that food delivery was a benefit they wanted, so we went to work to make it happen. At a time when Americans are relying on food delivery more than ever, we’re thrilled to team up with Grubhub to bring even more value to Lyft Pink.”
Lyft Pink launched nationwide last year, offering perks like discounted rideshares to rides on public bikes and scooters, plus perks that save users time, like priority airport pickups, relaxed cancellation fees and waived lost and found fees). Now, the inclusion of Grubhub+ and Seamless+ benefits will include 200,000 restaurants nationwide and include unlimited free deliver, discounts, and donation matching of extra change.
Lyft Pink currently costs $19.99, though the fee is waived with some credit cards (like Chase’s Sapphire Reserve) and includes 15% off all rides, plus the aforementioned perks.
This won’t be Lyft’s first foray into food delivery. In April, the company agreed to help drivers struggling from the lack of rideshares by adding a the option to deliver essential goods — like groceries, medicine and supplies — to government agencies, nonprofits and businesses, with a new Essential Deliveries program. Organizations can still apply to be added on the delivery roster, and request financial assistance, if needed.
Lyft’s direct competitor, Uber, launched UberEats in select cities in 2016. Since, the rideshare service has expanded UberEats nationwide, allowing users to order delivery from local restaurants, shops, liquor stores and chain restaurants. For $9.99 a month, UberEats users can upgrade to an Eats Pass for unlimited free delivery, plus 5% off each order.
With Lyft joining the restaurant takeout scene, it will be interesting to see how both companies fare with their hungry users.