Lyft has obtained the required regulatory clearance to finalize its acquisition of the European app-based taxi firm Freenow. First introduced again in April, Lyft’s roughly $197 million settlement with BMW and Mercedes-Benz permits the corporate to increase exterior of North America for the primary time.
Freenow’s service will proceed to function as regular, however Bloombergstories that customers can be prompted to obtain the Lyft app when travelling within the US or Canada, and vice versa for Lyft riders in one of many 9 international locations or 180 European cities Freenow at present operates in. Finally you’ll be capable to e book a taxi on both app with out having to change.
In accordance with Bloomberg, not one of the roughly 600 Freenow staff’ jobs are in danger, and whereas 50 % of taxi bookings in Europe apparently nonetheless occur offline, the brand new companions imagine there’s a need for that to shift extra in direction of an internet majority. In 2024, taxis accounted for 90 % of Freenow’s revenue and they’ll stay the "spine" of its enterprise going ahead.
In addition to seamless app integration sooner or later, Freenow mentioned in April that riders can anticipate extra constant pricing, quicker matching and new options because of the Lyft acquisition. Lyft is the second-largest ride-hailing firm within the US, trailing Uber, and has been seeking to introduce extra autonomous autos into its community from 2025 onwards after partnering with Mobileye and a number of other different firms final yr.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/lyft-completes-its-197-million-acquisition-of-europes-freenow-152420370.html?src=rss