COVID-19 response

Dockless scooter company lifts up Austin healthcare professionals with free rides

Lyft is offering free scooter rides to Austin healthcare professionals and transit employees.

Photo courtesy of Lyft

While Lime and Bird have removed most of their fleets from Austin's streets in response to COVID-19, Lyft is finding another use for its dockless scooters.

On April 3, the ride-hailing company launched a new service for Austin healthcare workers, first responders, and transit workers. During the coronavirus pandemic, it’s providing free dockless scooters trips to these coronavirus heroes.

“Lyft scooters can play a unique role in providing essential transportation to critical workers on the frontlines against COVID-19,” Caroline Samponaro, head of micromobility and transit policy at Lyft, says in an April 3 release. “In a time of crisis, we know Lyft can be an essential lifeline, and we are proud to support first responders, transit, and health care providers with free rides through LyftUp as they serve the public throughout Austin.”

Lyft is offering the free scooter rides, up to 30 months long, through April 30 for these essential employees across its scooter network in Austin. To help healthcare workers, Lyft is putting a priority on placing scooters near hospitals.

Lyft asks employers to email HeroScooters@Lyft.com to enroll employees in the LyftUp Scooter Critical Workforce Program. The company is also offering to help educate employees about the program.

To help curb the spread of COVID-19, Lyft says it is disinfecting high-contact surfaces on scooters (including handlebars, brake lever, bell, and throttle) when they are recharged.

The no-cost scooter trips are an expansion of LyftUp, the company's initiative to provide transportation during the coronavirus pandemic to those who need it most, including low-income seniors, young families, and people with disabilities.

Aside from scooters, Lyft offers ride-hailing services and bike-sharing systems.

health transportation

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

traffic self-driving cars innovation