Dueling partnerships have been a means of competing in the ride app wars
+ READ ARTICLELyft and Uber have experimented with oodles of partnerships in their war to distinguish their services — and lure ride app customers to platforms that provide essentially the same service. Lyft’s latest gambit, announced Tuesday, is partnering with Taco Bell to make it easier for riders to grab a bag of burritos on their way from Point A to Point B.
The company will soon be testing its so-called “Taco Mode” in Orange County, allowing riders to add a “pit stop” at a drive-thru between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. (a time of day when tipsy individuals might find Taco Bell inordinately appealing). The companies have promised a “nationwide rollout” by next year.
The announcement comes on the heels of McDonald’s touting more delivery options through Uber Eats, offering orders of burgers and fries that might come to one’s front door with swag like a sweatshirt covered in hash browns and muffins.
Over the years, the ride app companies have partnered with credit card firms, professional sports teams, television shows, clothing companies and non-profits dedicated to stopping drunk drivers, to name a few.
The partnership with Taco Bell is a stunt that may well lead to regrets about dietary decisions the following morning. But it’s also a sign of how fierce the competition between those companies remains — as Lyft has cut into Uber’s market share — and what promise companies in other industries continue to see in these millennial-friendly services.