As corporate travel programs accept—and, in many cases, embrace—ride-hailing leaders Uber and Lyft more and more, both companies are exploring ways to serve corporate customers beyond transient travel.
Ronnie Gurion, the former president of Orbitz Partner Network who began leading Uber for Business about six months ago, said investment and growth in his division has "been highlighted as one of the top priorities for the company." That growth, however, also includes services that "have less to do with business travel but can facilitate key parts of a business or operations," he said, "Uber as a platform that can be used for a whole host of efficiency purposes." This year, for example, Uber launched Uber Health, a dashboard specifically for healthcare professionals who need to arrange rides for patients, even if those patients do not have the Uber app themselves.
Similarly, Lyft chief business officer David Baga sees a "real evolution" as business customers use the platform for other employee services like late-night rides home from the office. Airbnb, for example, uses Lyft for meetings and events—including one in San Francisco with thousands of attendees, to help participants avoid hassles with traffic and parking. Slack uses it as a commuter benefit program, letting employees use Lyft credits to continue their commutes where public transportation ends. Another client uses Lyft credits in its recruiting program. "For their interview day, they receive Lyft credits with all of their instructions," Baga said. "What looked like a straight line of sight into supporting road warriors at sales meetings, training and customer visits—now we've got a lot of travel managers who are stewards of transportation inside the organization."
These expanding use cases do not mean Uber and Lyft are stalling on development for the business travel side. Last month, for example, Uber for Business added features to improve rider classifications of trips as business or leisure and broadened its integrations with expense suppliers. Lyft, meanwhile, added a rewards program in which a rider earns $5 in personal credits for every five business rides he or she takes. Baga said that is "something customers have been asking for since Day One."